Advised on biodiversity loss and nature's decline

"The work has been extremely challenging but also very inspiring and highly rewarding" says Professor Fern Wickson.

In late December 2024, in the scorching heat of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, she finalised the IPBES Transformative Change report for the organization's 11th plenary session – together with several hundred other researchers, politicians, and officials.

UN's Nature Panel

In 2019, IPBES demonstrated how one million species are at risk of extinction, and the situation has only worsened since then.
WWF's Living Planet Report, published in 2024, noted an average decline of 73% in wildlife populations since 1970
The report consists of five chapters:

Introduction to transformative change
Visions for a positive future
Approaches to change from various sciences and indigenous knowledge
Challenges and barriers to change
Strategies and actions for transformative change

The report will provide decision-makers with the best knowledge and options for actions that lead to transformative change. It will also explore pathways to achieve the 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature.
IPBES is a global science-policy platform that assesses the state of biodiversity and nature's contributions to human existence. IPBES has nearly 150 member countries and works to strengthen policy and decisions through science.

The three main reasons for biodiversity loss

The UiT professor is the coordinating lead author of the report's first chapter and has worked with over 100 researchers from around the world for the past three years. The chapter examines the underlying causes of nature loss.

They identified three main reasons:

That humans are disconnected from nature
That money and power are concentrated in fewer hands
That humans prioritize short-term, individual, and materialistic goals

IPBES stands for the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and is in many ways equivalent to the UN's climate panel, but for biodiversity and ecology.

A smiling woman poses next to a poster for IPBES — Wickson in a well deserved break in Windhoek.Photo used with permission.

"We are in a very serious and accelerating nature crisis right now, composed of biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution. And they affect each other, making both the problems and solutions complex," says Wickson.

A gigantic task and five possible ways forward

The report they agreed upon outlines the underlying causes of the significant loss of biodiversity in recent decades and how nature is retreating worldwide.

Furthermore, they have identified what stands in the way of counteracting the serious development and propose new strategies to achieve a sustainable and just world.

"It is a gigantic task, and the report delivers a comprehensive response. But I believe we have come up with good ways forward," said Wickson from the conference center in Namibia.

The report comes with five strategy proposals:

Protect, restore, and regenerate places of value for people and nature that exemplify biocultural diversity.
Work towards systematic changes and implement biodiversity as a given in the sectors most responsible for nature's decline.
Transform economic systems to prioritize nature and justice.
Transform governance systems to be inclusive, accountable, and adaptable.
Change views and values to recognize the connections between humans and nature.

"Being part of work that provides strategies and measures that can reverse such a huge crisis is extremely valuable to me. I am actually fortunate to be able to contribute to the global effort to solve the crises," says Wickson.

You can read a summary of the report in English here: Media Release: IPBES Transformative Change Assessment | IPBES secretariat. There you will also find a longer PDF with a more thorough summary of the report.

Six people posing smilingly for a group selfie outdoors in summer weather. — Wickson and collaborators, happy with having delivered a agreed upon report. Now the next phase starts; implemetning the proposals. Photo used with permission.

Rydland, Kjetil kjetil.rydland@uit.no Kommunikasjonsrådgjevar

Published: 06.01.25 12:53 Updated: 06.01.25 14:09

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