Regional Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Europe and Central Asia
Within the generic scope of the Regional Assessments of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the key policy‑relevant questions of the Europe and Central Asia Assessment concern options and opportunities with regard to biodiversity and ecosystem services and their role for human well-being. The assessment examines the opportunities for sectoral policies and policy instruments; managing production, consumption and economic development; and ecological infrastructures and ecological technologies. It explores opportunities to promote food security, economic development and equality while avoiding land and aquatic degradation and conserving cultural landscapes. The Europe and Central Asia assessment focuses in particular on the following questions:
- How can ecosystems that provide ecosystem services, such as those underpinning ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change and nature-based solutions to sustainable development, be protected through investments, regulations and management regimes for terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine systems?
- What are the effects of production, consumption and economic development on biodiversity and ecosystem services and their contribution to human wellbeing? Major links with other regions will be assessed;
- How can sectoral policies and new policy instruments make use of opportunities arising from the contribution of biodiversity and ecosystem services to human well-being?
The Plenary approved the Summary for Policymakers and accepted the chapters of the Assessment at its 6th session in March 2018 in Medellin, Colombia (IPBES 6). IPBES would like to acknowledge and thank all of the experts who contributed to the Assessment.
The IPBES Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Europe and Central Asia is composed of:
- A Summary for Policymakers (SPM); and
- A set of 6 chapters.
For the purpose of the regional assessment, three subregions have been identified that include the following countries and territories, including marine and coastal areas:
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Subregions |
Countries and territories within the Europe and Central Asia region |
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Central and Western Europe |
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey (Group of Central European countries) Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Group of Western European countries) |
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Eastern Europe |
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation and Ukraine |
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Central Asia |
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan |
Please see below to access the assessment report and related documents.
Editors: Mark Rounsevell, Markus Fischer, Amor Torre-Marin Rando, André Mader
Members of the management committee who provided guidance for the production of this assessment: Ruslan Novitsky, Marie Stenseke (Multidisciplinary Expert Panel); Senka Barudanovic, Robert T. Watson (Bureau).
Suggested citation: IPBES (2018): Summary for policymakers of the regional assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services for Europe and Central Asia of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. M. Fischer, M. Rounsevell, A. Torre-Marin Rando, A. Mader, A. Church, M. Elbakidze, V. Elias, T. Hahn, P.A. Harrison, J. Hauck, B. Martín-López, I. Ring, C. Sandström, I. Sousa Pinto, P. Visconti, N.E. Zimmermann and M. Christie (eds.). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. 48 pages https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3237428