IIASA to host first author meeting of IPBES Spatial Planning and Connectivity Assessment

As countries turn from global commitments to implementing agreed biodiversity targets and taking action on the biodiversity crisis, the upcoming IPBES assessment will address the use, and change in use, of land, inland waters and seas, including areas beyond national jurisdiction, investigating the essential roles of protected areas and ecological restoration in responding to these changes. The authors will also identify biodiversity-inclusive integrated spatial planning tools and approaches that can help policymakers and practitioners minimize land and sea use change harmful to biodiversity. Particular attention will be given to differing regional and national contexts, as well as the importance of supporting sustainable livelihoods.

“This assessment comes at a crucial moment to provide the scientific foundations and practical tools that countries need to achieve the Global Biodiversity Framework targets,” explains IIASA Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation Research Group Leader, Piero Visconti. “By embedding ecological knowledge and conservation objectives into spatial planning through inclusive approaches, we can better align conservation and human wellbeing in decision-making. With its leading work on integrated spatial planning and global scenarios, IIASA offers the ideal setting for the first author meeting and for supporting this collective effort.”

IIASA researchers will also contribute their expertise to shaping the assessment itself. Visconti will serve as Coordinating Lead Author of Chapter 3, which will explore the role of protected areas and ecological restoration in achieving objectives for biodiversity while accounting for people’s needs. In addition, Martin Jung, a senior research scholar in the Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation Research Group, will contribute as Lead Author of Chapter 4, which will examine the role and importance of ecological connectivity as a component of spatial planning.

María José Martínez-Harms, co-chair of the IPBES Spatial Planning and Connectivity Assessment, emphasized the importance of this first step: "It is great that IIASA is hosting the first author meeting and contributing its expertise on integrated spatial planning and biodiversity to the assessment. Bringing together experts from all over the world in such a setting helps to build the strong foundations we need to integrate biodiversity and human wellbeing in spatial planning and to support countries in implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework."

IIASA has a longstanding record of engagement with IPBES, with its scientists contributing to several previous assessments, including the Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the Regional Assessments, and the Methodological Assessment on Scenarios and Models of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

On the margins of the author meeting, the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) – IIASA’s National Member Organization for Austria – together with IIASA, the Austrian IIASA Committee at OeAW and the Commission for Biodiversity in Austria, will host a dedicated minisymposium in Vienna on 22 September, where the Austrian perspective on this new assessment will be highlighted. The event will be a unique opportunity not only to learn about the report and its context for Austrian landscapes and implementation, but also to meet the authors and engage in in-depth discussion.

Reflecting on IIASA’s contribution to the process, Deputy Director General, Karen Lips, noted: “IIASA is committed to advancing knowledge that supports global sustainability efforts. Hosting the first author meeting of the IPBES Spatial Planning and Connectivity Assessment reflects the Institute’s commitment to fostering international collaboration on urgent environmental challenges.”

The meeting at IIASA will mark the start of a multi-year process to deliver the first IPBES assessment dedicated to spatial planning and connectivity, providing the knowledge and options needed to turn global biodiversity commitments into concrete action.

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Collaboration between IIASA and IPBES