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‘Green light’ for global biodiversity science panel
"The dream of many scientists in both developed and developing countries has been made a reality"
- Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme
An international meeting has given the green light to the formation of a global "science policy" panel on biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Proponents say the new body will "bridge the gulf" between scientific research and urgent political action needed to halt biodiversity loss.
More than 230 delegates from 85 nations backed the proposals at a five-day UN meeting in Busan, South Korea.
The international panel is expected to be formally endorsed in 2011.
Among the main roles of the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will be to carry out peer reviews of scientific literature in order to provide governments with "gold standard" reports.
It is expected that the IPBES will be modelled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which plays a major role in shaping global climate policy.