Academic nominated by UK Government to contribute to global biodiversity assessment of nature’s contributions to people

Dr Sian Rees is a lead author on an assessment identifying the most effective ways to monitor biodiversity, human health and wellbeing
sian rees
A University of Plymouth academic has been nominated by the UK Government to contribute to a major new assessment of global biodiversity.
Dr Sian Rees has been selected by the Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) to serve as a lead author on its emerging Multi-Year Assessment on Monitoring Biodiversity & Nature’s Contributions to People.
Over the coming two years, she will work alongside around 100 experts from across the world to identify the most effective means of monitoring global biodiversity.
Their assessment will review current data collection methods and innovations, and analyse the data that are currently in existence or being generated.
Through that, it will highlight where geographic coverage exists and which species, ecosystems, and ecosystem services are being covered, as well as the kinds of coverage available over time.
It will also examine any gaps and biases in existing coverage as well as the capacity needed, including financial and institutional aspects, to address those gaps, enhance current capacity and build sustainable national and global monitoring systems.
Critically, the assessment will incorporate diverse knowledge systems, including Indigenous and other knowledge, to ensure local and cultural aspects are taken into account.

I am excited to have been offered this opportunity with IPBES, to bring forward our experience in natural capital and ecosystem service research.

Biodiversity supports human wellbeing in so many vital ways.
There is an urgent need to strengthen knowledge about biodiversity monitoring and the causes of biodiversity degradation, so that we can better inform policy and the action that is needed to meet the global targets on nature and sustainable development.

Sian ReesDr Sian Rees
Associate Professor of Social-Ecological Systems and Associate Head of School (Research)

Dr Rees is one of the UK’s leading experts in natural capital assessment, and the IPBES assessment will be the latest major report linked to biodiversity loss and climate change on which she has been a co-author.
In 2021, she was one of the experts involved in a report by the British Ecological Society (BES) that examined the potential of nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change and benefit biodiversity in the UK.
Her research has also been cited in regional and national policies including the UK Government’s 25-year Environment Plan and the Benyon Review into Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs).
The process of writing the new report begins this month, when Dr Rees will attend the first author meeting of the assessment at McGill University, Canada, with a first draft of the report expected to be ready for review in 2025.
 
 
 

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