The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), established in 2012, has changed the way the world sees biodiversity assessment. IPBES has produced multiple global reports on various aspects of biodiversity and its loss. These reports provide course-scale data to inform policymakers of general trends, and they have begun to stimulate national governments to conduct similar assessments.

Japan has been one of the most active countries in the world in terms of IPBES involvement and support, and IPBES recently accepted Japan’s offer to host and staff a third IPBES technical support unit (TSU), on the topic of biodiversity scenarios and models. Speakers in this session will discuss overall trends in biodiversity assessment worldwide; the role of IPBES in this field and in Japan; and the upcoming work of the new technical support unit.