Nature abhors a vacuum: invasive themes and other outputs from the tenth plenary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES-10)

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) held its tenth plenary session at Bonn, Germany. in July 2023. The key feature of this plenary was the Thematic Assessment of Invasive Alien Species, the discussion of which was marked by extensive wordsmithing. The summary for policy makers was accepted, but it took until the last minute. The two scoping reports for the upcoming assessment of biodiversity monitoring and ecological connectivity were accepted, allowing preparation of the work on these assessments to begin. We noted a missing balance between robust scientific knowledge and political and economic interest and see these tedious discussions as counterproductive to resolving biodiversity loss. The current fad for nature-positive rhetoric is not useful in resolving these dilemmas. Getting the balance right will be a real test as to whether IPBES is really helping solve problems, or if it is simply performance art.