Call for nominations: IPBES workshop on modelling Nature Futures scenarios

In decision IPBES-7/1, the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) adopted the rolling work programme of IPBES for the period up to 2030, and established a task force on scenarios and models to support IPBES assessments regarding their work on scenarios and models, and to catalyse the further development of scenarios and models for future IPBES assessments by the wider community. In line with this mandate, the task force on scenarios and models is developing a draft “Nature Futures Framework” and related methodological guidance, which serve as tools for formulating new, desirable future scenarios for nature and people. The task force intends to present this framework and methodological guidance to the Plenary for consideration at its ninth session, and to conduct a series of consultations with relevant stakeholders on the draft framework during 2021.

In this context, IPBES will organize a Platform workshop, in accordance with IPBES procedures. The workshop will consist of an online meeting planned for 12-15 January 2021, and possibly one or more physical meetings later in 2021. The workshop will focus on “modelling Nature Futures scenarios” and be based on the Nature Futures Framework and methodological guidance under development by the task force.

The objectives of this workshop are to introduce the Nature Futures Framework and help catalyse the development of scenarios and models for IPBES by communities that develop and apply models of different types, scales and domains relevant to biodiversity and ecosystem services. The workshop will 1) seek feedback and contributions from the modelling community on the draft Nature Futures Framework and its methodological guidance; 2) discuss further methodological steps to enable these modelling communities to simulate quantitative scenarios of nature, nature’s contributions to people, and a good quality of life, using the Nature Futures Framework at different scales; and 3) discuss future collaborations between the task force and modelling communities for further development and application of the Nature Futures Framework to support assessments and policies on biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The workshop will comprise about 30 experts and practitioners selected by the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel from the pool of experts nominated by Governments and stakeholders, as well as about 15 resource persons from organizations active in the modelling community.

The outcome of the workshop will be a workshop report that will support the catalysis of further development of scenarios and models for future IPBES assessments. The report will, in particular, inform the next steps in consulting modelling communities on the Nature Futures Framework and its methodological guidance, serve to catalyse contributions towards the development of the Nature Futures scenarios, and explore and outline relevant challenges, which could be addressed by the broader scientific community. Other ongoing scoping processes and assessments may be informed by the workshop report where relevant and appropriate.

Herewith, the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel invites Governments and other stakeholders to nominate experts to participate in this workshop. Organizations or institutions wishing to nominate are not required to have the status of an observer to the Plenary of IPBES to make a nomination. Please help us to disseminate this call for nominations of relevant experts widely.

Nominated experts should have recognized expertise related to a wide spectrum of models on biodiversity and ecosystem services across different scales and disciplines. Particular emphasis will be given to experts on models that represent multiple interactions between biodiversity, climate change, food, water, health and energy, and/or models that include multiple direct and indirect drivers that are key determinants of transformative change, with a view to supporting the nexus and transformative change assessments. All nominated experts (Nominees) will need to be available for the full duration of the online workshop, scheduled for 12-15 January 2021 and are expected to participate in the possible physical workshops later in 2021.

Please follow this procedure for nomination:

• Nominees are invited to fill out the application form and attach their curriculum vitae, through the dedicated web portal at: https://ipbes.net/application-modelling-nature-futures-scenarios-workshop. (To access this page, you will need to log in with your IPBES web site login credentials. Nominees not yet registered on the IPBES web site will need to do so at https://ipbes.net/user/register). The nomination form is in English only and applications should be submitted in English, as the workshop will be conducted in English.
• The nominating Government or organization (Nominator) indicated by the Nominee will receive an email with a link to the nomination form and will be invited to approve and submit the nominations in the web portal. Only nominations approved and submitted by the Nominator will be considered for the workshop;
• Nominators and Nominees will receive a confirmation via email once the nomination has been duly submitted.

Interested experts wishing to be nominated by a Government are encouraged to contact their IPBES National Focal Point regarding any country-specific processes or deadlines and are requested to fill out their application form by 9 November 2020. Nominators (Governments or organizations) should approve the applications and submit their nominations by 16 November 2020. Early nominations ahead of the deadline are encouraged.