EU publications

Key policy briefs and reports published or sponsored by the EC

The EU and IPBES: Science cooperation for biodiversity
This infographic describes how the EU works with IPBES to facilitate policy that supports science, and science that supports policy.

Science at the service of biodiversity
The EU is setting up a dedicated Science Service to provide decision makers with timely research-based options for policymaking on biodiversity.

Transformative change in the global post-2020 biodiversity framework
This report covers a workshop (23 - 26 June 2020) organised by DG RTD that brought scientists and policymakers together to discuss options for translating principles of transformative change into actions, goals, targets and pathways for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

Guidance for interpretation of the CBD categories of pathways for the introduction of invasive alien species
This is a DG ENV guidance tool prepared by an expert team under IUCN supervision in order to improve understanding of the importance of specific alien species' pathways, seen as critical for managing the threat posed by alien invasive species.

Advancing implementation of the Nagoya Protocol: An international exchange on key challenges and practical ways forward 
This workshop report summarises the presentations at a workshop for Parties to the Nagoya Protocol organised by the EU in Brussels in November 2017.

Analysis of implications of compliance with the EU ABS Regulation for research organisations and private sector companies
This is a preliminary report by external experts tasked by the EU in 2020 to analyse the implications of the compliance obligations under the EU ABS Regulation on compliance measures for users from the Nagoya Protocol in the Union. 

On the role of development policy in the response to biodiversity loss in developing countries, in the context of the achievement of the 2030 Agenda
This is a report by the Committee on Development of a motion for a European Parliament resolution adopted in July 2021.

Identification and mitigation of the negative impacts of EU demand for certain commodities on biodiversity in third countries
This study by external experts (commissioned by DG ENV) takes stock of knowledge relevant for identifying commodities imported into the EU with significant negative impacts (direct or indirect) on biodiversity in source countries, and potential measures for reducing these impacts of EU consumption patterns on biodiversity elsewhere.

The forests of the Congo basin: State of the forest 2010 (SOF) 
This JRC 2010 SOF report represents the collaborative effort of over 100 individuals from a diversity of institutions and the forestry administrations of the Central African countries.

Study to support an ex ante assessment for a natural capital financing facility
A 2014 report by external experts (commissioned by DG ENV)

Green Cities: Integrating Environment And Climate Ambitions In Urban Development:

Activities That Qualify For Rio Markers In Green Urban Development

Key project reports published or sponsored by the EC

The EU flagship initiative Biodiversity for Life  
This brochure introduces the EU B4LIfe initiative for supporting developing countries in protecting biodiversity, ensuring sustainable livelihoods and combating wildlife crime. It presents detailed information on EU priorities in helping protect biodiversity and ecosystems in the world's most deprived areas.

Larger than Elephants: Inputs for an EU strategic approach to wildlife conservation in Africa
This Africa report was published by EU B4Life in 2015, in response to the African wildlife crisis. It aims to identify the principal threats to African wildlife (including animals and plants) and the most appropriate responses. These include interventions to tackle broad wildlife conservation needs and the growing problem of illegal wildlife trade, as well as improving local rural livelihoods to reduce reliance on unsustainable use of wild resources and wildlife. Larger than Elephants is now serving as guidance for EU delegations and other development partners.

Larger than Tigers: Inputs for a strategic approach to biodiversity conservation in Asia
Following the success of its Africa report "Larger than Elephants," B4LIfe launched this Asia report in May 2018. It highlights Asia's vast natural capital and presents a strategic approach to halting environmental degradation and biodiversity loss in the region. Asia is home to over half the world's population and almost one fifth of its land mass. Its richly diverse ecosystems have witnessed rapid population and economic growth. A large number of species are on the brink of extinction and thousands more dramatically declining along with their natural habitat.

Larger than Jaguars: Inputs for a strategic approach to biodiversity conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean
In March 2021, B4Life published this report covering Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It presents a strategic approach to biodiversity conservation in the LAC region, a valuable basis for decisions in biodiversity conservation aligned with human development. The findings will feed EU strategy in establishing strong partnerships with LAC based on shared values and interests, as well as contribute to converging stakeholder actions in favour of ecosystem conservation. 

The BEST Preparatory Action
This brochure describes the wide range of concrete actions contributing to halting and reversing biodiversity loss and fighting climate change in the EU’s Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories, global biodiversity hotspots that are particularly vulnerable to human induced and natural impacts.

NaturAfrica: The Green Deal approach for EU support to biodiversity conservation in Africa
This report describes the EU's NaturAfrica initiative to support biodiversity conservation in Africa with an innovative, people-centred approach. It identifies key landscapes for conservation and development where the EU will focus support for job creation, improved security and sustainable livelihoods, while preserving the ecosystems and wildlife that are vital to all.

European Union support for sustainable use and conservation of nature in developing countries
This B4Life report gives an overview of EU support to developing countries on biodiversity conservation: protecting threatened species and ecosystems and fighting the illegal wildlife trade while combating poverty and improving livelihoods.

Case studies and Highlights 2019-2020 
This is a regional overview of the EU-funded 4-year "Partners Against Wildlife Crime” project (2019 to 2022), a 10M€ Action implemented through a consortium of 12 international and national partner organizations. It represents the EU-funded "Support to Civil Society in Combating Wildlife Trafficking and Forest Crime in the Greater Mekong Region, Malaysia and PR China" whose goal is to disrupt the illicit supply chains of tiger, Asian elephant, Siamese rosewood and freshwater turtles – from source to market, by leveraging civil society partnerships to increase the effectiveness of Government action.

Reports on 34 BEST projects in ORs and OCTs as well as globally.

UN publications 

CBD

First draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework
Released by the CBD on 12 July 2021, this first draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework proposes four goals for 2050 in line with the vision of humanity “living in harmony with nature,” adopted by CBD parties in 2010, with 2-3 milestones to be reached by 2030 for each goal. There are also 21 associated "action targets" for reducing threats to biodiversity, meeting people’s needs through sustainable use and benefit-sharing, and tools and solutions for implementation and mainstreaming.

Creating a Nature-Positive Future: The contribution of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures
Protected areas (PAs) and other effective areas-based conservation measures (OECMs) are a cornerstone of biodiversity conservation that concurrently provide multiple co-benefits for achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. This CBD 2021 Global Report presents the global status of PAs and OECMs and opportunities for action.

Ecosystem Goods and Services in Development Planning
The aim of this Good Practice Guide (GPG) is to provide a better understanding of how development policies and budget processes can effectively internalize environmental priorities and benefits. This product is primarily directed at officers from finance and planning ministries, but also useful for individuals from other sector ministries, government institutions, development and environmental groups.

CBD Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group Report on Biodiversity and Climate Change: Interlinkages Between Biological Diversity And Climate Change And Advice On The Integration Of Biodiversity Considerations Into The Implementation Of The United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change And Its Kyoto Protocol

UNCCD

Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) for Biodiversity Conservation
This UNCCD technical report presents the results of an analysis of the key elements of the LDN framework developed by the UNCCD, the LDN voluntary commitments adopted by countries and the CBD and its Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. It identifies significant synergies between LDN and the CBD’s Strategic Plan that policymakers can draw on to produce more effective actions on these urgent issues.

UNEP

Becoming #GenerationRestoration: Ecosystem Restoration For People, Nature And Climate 
This report presents the case for why we all must throw our weight behind a global restoration effort. Drawing on the latest scientific evidence (2021), it explains the crucial role played by ecosystems from forests and farmland to rivers and oceans, and charts the losses that result from our poor stewardship of the planet.

Building Biodiversity - The Natural Resource Management Approach
This report sets out science-based principles on natural resource management informed by the research of UNEP's International Resource Panel (IRP).

FAO

The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture
This is an assessment report by the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (2019)

The Second Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (SoWPGR-2)
The SoWPGR-2 identifies the significant achievements in conservation and use of plant genetic diversity during the past decade and highlights the critical gaps and emerging challenges in this area. It emphasises that PGRFA are even more important today than in the past in face of the demands on agriculture to produce more food of higher quality while preserving the natural resource base.

WHO

Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health
This State of Knowledge Review synthesises the available information on the inter-linkages between biodiversity, ecosystem stability, and epidemic infectious diseases such as the Ebola virus; and the connection between biodiversity, nutritional diversity and health. It also covers the potential benefits of closer partnerships between conservation and health

Guidance on Mainstreaming Biodiversity for Nutrition and Health
This report aims to support countries in the necessary transition toward healthier, more sustainable diets by integrating biodiversity in food-based interventions to support nutrition and health.

Other publications

IPBES reports

IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity And Ecosystem Services 
This report assesses the status and trends with regard to biodiversity and ecosystem services, the impact of biodiversity and ecosystem services on human wellbeing and the effectiveness of responses, including the Strategic Plan and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets. This assessment is anticipated to contribute to the evaluation and renewal process of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

Other IPBES Assessment Reports
To date, eight IPBES assessment reports have been published: a Guide on the production of assessments, the Scenarios and models assessment, reports on Land Degradation and Restoration and Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production, and 4 regional assessment reports respectively for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia.

IPBES-IPCC co-sponsored workshop report on biodiversity and climate change
This report presents the main conclusions of the first-ever IPCC-IPBES co-sponsored workshop (December 2020), which explored diverse facets of the interaction between climate and biodiversity: from current trends to the role and implementation of nature-based solutions and the sustainable development of human society.

IPBES workshop on biodiversity and pandemics
The scientific evidence reviewed in this workshop report demonstrates that pandemics are becoming more frequent. Their underlying causes are the same global environmental changes that drive biodiversity loss and climate change. These include land-use change, agricultural expansion and intensification, and wildlife trade and consumption. They bring wildlife, livestock, and people into closer contact, allowing animal microbes to move into people and lead to infections, sometimes outbreaks, and more rarely into pandemics.

Other relevant publications

Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity synthesis
This report presents a synthesis and integration of the findings concerning biodiversity contained in the reports of the four Millennium Assessment (MA) Working Groups (Condition and Trends, Scenarios, Responses, and Sub-global Assessments). From the outset, the MA was designed to meet the needs of the Convention on Biological Diversity, among other users.

Biodiversity: Finance and the Economic and Business Case for Action 
A report prepared by the OECD for the French G7 Presidency and the G7 Environment Ministers’ Meeting, 5-6 May 2019

The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review
This is an independent, global review on the Economics of Biodiversity by Professor Partha Dasgupta (Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus, University of Cambridge). It was commissioned in 2019 by HM Treasury (UK) and supported by an Advisory Panel drawn from public policy, science, economics, finance and business. It calls for changes in how we think, act and measure economic success to protect and enhance our prosperity and the natural world. Grounded in a deep understanding of ecosystem processes and how they are affected by economic activity, the new framework presented by the Review sets out how we should account for Nature in economics and decision-making.

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Policy Makers
This is a comprehensive study of the global biodiversity crisis and related policy challenges. It includes a review of information tools for decision makers, available instruments for better stewardship of natural capital, and a vision for the road ahead.

Academic publications

Stakeholder participation in IPBES: connecting local environmental work with global decision making
This paper by active IPBES participants reflects on the role of stakeholders in the first work programme of IPBES (2014-2018). It provides an overview of IPBES processes and products relevant to stakeholders, examines the motivation of stakeholders to engage with IPBES, and explores possibilities for improved stakeholder engagement and contributions to future work of the platform.

The Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative: Promoting scientific support for global ocean governance
This publication describes the ongoing work of the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (GOBI), a voluntary group of marine institutions and scientists dedicated to conserving and protecting marine biodiversity, in particular the CBD's Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (EBSA) process. GOBI support for ocean governance will also contribute to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030).

Regional ocean governance: Polycentric arrangements and their role in global ocean governance
This study explores whether polycentric regional clusters can provide the ‘missing link’ for achieving global ocean governance objectives. Regional approaches are prominent in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

Safeguarding seafood security, marine biodiversity and threatened species: can we have our fish and eat it too?
This study argues for a globally coordinated approach to marine conservation and food security, as regional scale strategies are shown to be less efficient and may result in conflict between food security and conservation objectives.

Intergenerational dialogue, collaboration, learning, and decision-making in global environmental governance: The case of the IUCN intergenerational partnership for sustainability
This article provides a rationale for enhanced youth engagement, intergenerational dialogue and intergenerational governance structures within global conservation organizations like the IUCN.

Transformative governance of biodiversity: insights for sustainable development
This article emphasises the need for transformative governance to enable the transformative change necessary for achieving global sustainability goals, and reversing biodiversity loss. Defining transformative governance as integrative, inclusive, adaptive and pluralist, it argues for the implementation, in conjunction, of all four approaches.

Assembling global conservation governance
This paper traces the forces underlying paradigm shifts in biodiversity conservation, presenting global conservation governance as configured via constantly shifting assemblages of state and non-state actors, devices and narratives.

Activities of environmental convention-secretariats: Laws, functions and discretions
This paper assesses how the norms defining Secretariats' functions differ and also reflect on actual functions for three MEAs, namely (1) CITES (2) CBD and (3) CMS.

An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm
This paper assesses progress toward the goal of protecting 50% of the terrestrial biosphere to halt the species-extinction crisis while sustaining livelihoods. It proposes a Global Deal for Nature – a companion to the Paris Climate Deal – to achieve it.

How to pay for saving biodiversity
This paper explores how a global deal for conserving half the terrestrial realm for biodiversity by 2050 might be implemented to overcome the funding problem for biodiversity protection.

Economic reasons for conserving wild nature
This paper estimates the overall benefit to cost ratio of an effective global program for the conservation of remaining wild nature is at least 100:1.