Transformative change in a nexus world: product and process in the eleventh plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES-11)

The eleventh session of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES-11) was held in Windhoek, Namibia, in December 2024. Approval of two assessments were the highlights of this plenary: the thematic assessment of the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food and health - the so-called Nexus Assessment, and the thematic assessment of the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, determinants of transformative change and options for achieving the 2050 vision for biodiversity – the so-called Transformative Change Assessment. Yet the negotiations on the summaries for policymakers for those two assessments were marked more by national interests than by science. The authors were frequently challenged to justify evidence expressed in plain English, and the three years of work with its original scientific language was weakened by bureaucratically-driven wordsmithing. The assessments were finally approved with a range of response options and ways forward. Both assessments stress urgency and are policy-ready to be taken up by governments for implementation globally. IPBES continues ringing the scientific alarm bell, and science hopes that bell is heard.