UNEP-WCMC’s Dr Neil Burgess, Matt Jones and Shena Garcia Rangel report back after taking part in the high-level negotiations and networking of the latest meeting of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, IPBES-9. While governments continue to negotiate on the details of crucial new global goals and targets to halt and reverse…
Eunbyul Kim is currently studying for a masters in climate change policy at King’s College London. For the past five months, she has been working with UNEP-WCMC to help improve our data and policy background on the benefits of seagrass restoration in Europe. Before starting my work at UNEP-WCMC helping with restoration policy research, I…
On the 27th and 28th of April 2022, Ethiopia announced the validation of its national ecosystem assessment report, the country’s first comprehensive assessment which synthesises knowledge on the status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services and its contributions to people, framed around key policy questions that are of national importance. National endorsement The validation…
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Tropical forests provide vital homes for people and nature, as well as helping to mitigate climate change. As part of celebrations for International Day of the Tropics, we showcase some of the key research coming from the UNEP-WCMC Trade, Development and the Environment Hub (TRADE Hub), exploring how increased forest and farming protections, better monitoring…
A new online platform has been launched to raise awareness and inspire action by non-government organisations, local communities and businesses to protect, sustainably manage and restore areas of land and water. Well-managed protected and conserved areas play a vital role in safeguarding biodiversity, contributing to human livelihoods and bolstering climate resilience. With new international…
Biodiversity represents the tremendous variety of life on Earth on which we all depend. But human influence, including from land use changes, overexploitation and climate change means the biodiversity on which we all depend is under threat. More than one million animal and plant species are now at risk of extinction. Despite important progress that…
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The planet’s sustainable future, and humanity’s sustainable development, relies on us being able to understand, quantify and recognize the multiple values of biodiversity. However, natural capital and ecosystem services are often neglected in traditional assessments of economic progress and development planning. This is where Natural Capital Accounts (NCA) are a useful tool: they quantify the…
A new study from environmental mapping experts at the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) has revealed which parts of the Mediterranean face the greatest socio-economic threats from seagrass loss due to rising sea temperatures. The Mediterranean Sea is home to 1.2 million hectares of seagrass meadows. As well as being home to…
Cameroon, host to some of the most biodiverse places on Earth, became the third country in UNEP-WCMC’s National Ecosystem Assessment Initiative (NEA Initiative) to validate its national ecosystem assessment. National endorsement On January 27th 2022, Cameroon announced the validation of its national ecosystem assessment, a comprehensive knowledge-base on biodiversity and ecosystem services and its linkages…
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