---
title: "IPBES: Biodiversity Science-Policy Platform | Model Diplomat"
description: "IPBES is the intergovernmental body assessing global biodiversity for policymakers, established 2012. Unlike the IPCC, it covers nature and ecosystem services."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/ipbes"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- IPBES is an independent intergovernmental body established in 2012 to strengthen the science-policy interface on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and their sustainable use.
- How does IPBES differ from the IPCC?
- Is IPBES part of the United Nations?
- What is the Summary for Policymakers in an IPBES assessment?
- Does IPBES create binding obligations on governments?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

IPBES is an independent intergovernmental body established in 2012 to strengthen the science-policy interface on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and their sustainable use.

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## Positions at a glance

### Supporters

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) was formally established on 21 April 2012 in Panama City, when delegates from 94 governments adopted the resolution founding the body following a multi-year consultative process led under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Its creation answered a gap identified during the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, which demonstrated that no standing mechanism existed to translate biodiversity science into actionable policy guidance with intergovernmental legitimacy. IPBES is not a UN agency in the strict sense; it is an independent intergovernmental body, with administrative support provided by UNEP, and its secretariat seated in Bonn, Germany. Membership is open to all UN member states, and the Platform operated with 147 member governments by the early 2020s. Its founding functions, set out in its 2014 work programme, are fourfold: generating knowledge, undertaking assessments, supporting policy formulation, and building capacity.

### Opponents

Controversies have attended the Platform's work. The headline "one million species" figure of the 2019 Global Assessment drew scrutiny over its derivation, and some governments have resisted SPM language perceived as prescriptive about economic systems or land tenure. The line-by-line consensus approval of SPMs creates the same vulnerability seen at the IPCC: politically sensitive findings can be diluted during negotiation. Funding is a persistent constraint, as IPBES depends on voluntary contributions to a trust fund rather than assessed dues, limiting the pace and number of assessments. The Platform has also navigated debate over how to weight ILK against peer-reviewed evidence without compromising methodological rigour.

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Example

In May 2019 the IPBES Plenary in Paris approved the Global Assessment Report warning that around one million species face extinction, a finding that informed the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in December 2022.

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