Biodiversity policy: report of the first IPBES plenary
IPBES, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, has produced the report of its first plenary: emphasis on governance and organisation.
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Biodiversity policy USA: PCAST report on natural capital
The US President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) produced the report Sustaining Environmental Capital: Protecting Society and the Economy in July. Strong emphasis on ecosystem services, valuation and assessments, including the international dimension - looks also at US involvement in IPBES
Biodiversity policy: IPBES first plenary
In progress in the week beginning 3 October, the first plenary meeting of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Papers, documents and updates on the website, but most of the discussion is about governance, organisation and so forth. IUCN position paper on IPBES also worth reading.
Biodiversity policy: IPBES first plenary
The first plenary meeting of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services is planned for 3-7 October in Nairobi. Papers are going up on the website: most relate to governance and organisation, but there are some papers relating to initial thinking on capacity building and assessment in work plans. The work plan itself seems likely to be discussed at the following plenary in 2012.
Biodiversity policy: expertise and assessments
One of elements of discussion within the IPBES development process is asssessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services - there was a recent informal workshop in Japan that will input to the October plenary of IPBES. In particular, there is a difficulty in finding appropriate scaling, methodology and reasonable data that means assessment processes can have scientific and policy credibility from local to global scales. Some intitiatives of interest: /...more
Nested Networks at the Helmholtz Centre at UFZ - research directly in the context of the IPBES process
The 2009 Assessment of Assessments - looking at marine assessments and needs for science and policy relevance within the UN
A New European Environment Assessment of Assessments - a draft is available and is to be discussed in September 2011 by ministers - undertaken by EEA, but the scope is Europe-wide, not only EU.
Biodiversity policy: IPBES - UK workshop and planning for the October 2011 plenary
The report of a UK workshop on IPBES is now available. The first plenary of IPBES is to be held on 3-7 October 2011, with a likely focus on organisation and governance for those governments participating.
Biodiversity policy and engagement: World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment 2011
The recent World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment organised by the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford has an annual emphasis on valuing ecosystem services. Lot of reports, blogs videos and resources from high level participants available - report planned for the autumn. One of a range of fora that we might expect to contribute to the way that IPBES develops.
Biodiversity policy: IPBES and capacity building
Preparations for the first major meetings of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in late 2011 and early 2012 are underway. Expert meeting on IPBES and capacity building in Norway at the end of May - report is available in rough outline.
Biodiversity policy: comment on IPBES - biodiversity/policy interface
Comment piece in Science on IPBES. The UN agreed recently to the formation of the International Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Science-Policy Interface (IPBES) as a cross-cutting initiative to provide more effective integration of biodiversity science and policy. The article's authors argue for good definition of policy needs on appropriate geographical scales and point to the need to build capacity in science as part of the initiative.../more.../ The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Science-Policy Interface Charles Perrings, Anantha Duraiappah, Anne Larigauderie, and Harold Mooney Science 4 March 2011: 331 (6021), 1139-1140. Published online 17 February 2011 [DOI:10.1126/science.1202400]
Science Policy UK: Parliamentary inquiry into peer review
The UK House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has just launched an inquiry into peer review with a deadline for evidence of 10 March 2011. This is regularly raised in the context of research funding - RCUK and RAE - but this seems to be linked in part to the controversy on climate science, although the scope is very much wider. /...more
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The inquiry is into "the operation and effectiveness of the peer review process used to examine and validate scientific results and papers prior to publication" and is interested in particular in:
- the strengths and weaknesses of peer review as a quality control mechanism for scientists, publishers and the public;measures to strengthen peer review;
- the value and use of peer reviewed science on advancing and testing scientific knowledge;
- the value and use of peer reviewed science in informing public debate;
- the extent to which peer review varies between scientific disciplines and between countries across the world;
- the processes by which reviewers with the requisite skills and knowledge are identified, in particular as the volume of multi-disciplinary research increases;
- the impact of IT and greater use of online resources on the peer review process; and
- possible alternatives to peer review
There will obviously be a lot of discussion on the overall approach in funding and publication, where there has been a lot of change in the past decade - peer review colleges, research assessment in HE, electronic publication and pre-publication, and so on. Would also be interesting to think about the way in which peer review operates into policy areas - the IPCC and possible development of IPBES will be interesting, where there is development of expert consensus for large assessment exercises that involve wide multidisciplinary groupings.