Nature Insight: Speed Dating with the Future

Pathways to a Just and Sustainable World: The Transformative Change assessment

What does transformative change mean? Is it possible, and how can it be achieved and accelerated with so many imminent threats to the natural world? These are the burning questions at the heart of the IPBES ‘Transformative Change Assessment’, which offers tools and guidance for a more just and sustainable world. 
In this episode, Brit talks to one of the co-chairs of the Assessment, Professor Lucas Garibaldi, from the Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, in Argentina. We also delve into the forests of Nepal with Dr. Janita Gurung, a programme lead for governance and rights at RECOFTC - an organisation working to ensure that resilient communities, with respected rights, thrive in forest landscapes. 
To find out more about IPBES, head to www.ipbes.net or follow us on social media @IPBES.

A Symphony of Solutions: How best to tackle our biodiversity, water, food, health and climate change challenges together

The crises keep on coming – in food, in water, in health, in biodiversity, and in climate change. IPBES is launching its ‘Nexus Assessment Report’, which looks at how all of these crises are interlinked and often cascade and compound each other. It’s time to ‘tune up our instruments’ - to create greater harmony in tackling them together for a just and sustainable world.
In this episode, Rob hears from the two co-chairs of the Nexus assessment, Professor Paula Harrison, the Principal Natural Capital Scientist at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in the UK, and Pamela McElwee, a Professor of Human Ecology at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. The episode also features Professor Jason Rohr from the University of Notre Dame in the United States, who takes us to Senegal in his fight against the ancient curse of the pharaohs - schistosomiasis.
To find out more about IPBES, head to www.ipbes.net or follow us on social media @IPBES.

Hidden Layers: The vital importance of genetic biodiversity

When it comes to biodiversity, you have probably heard of the importance of diverse species and ecosystems. But there is one more layer underlying our natural systems… genetic diversity.
To kick off the season, Brit gets back in touch with her former mentor, Dr. Sean Hoban, Tree Conservation Biologist at The Morton Arboretum in Chicago, USA. And we hear from Dr. Laura Bertola, Research Associate for the National Centre for Biological Sciences in India, about the importance of genetic diversity in big cats.
You can also watch the documentary that filmmaker Luca Cueni produced when he was part of the Leo Foundation in March 2022, here.
To find out more about IPBES, head to www.ipbes.net or follow us on social media @IPBES.

We’re back for season 4!

Nature Insight is back for a fourth season! Join Brit and Rob as they speed date with experts who offer unique insights into the values of nature and the world we all share – from the hidden layers of genetic biodiversity, to the beauty of ugly species. Subscribe now, it’s your backstage pass to better-informed choices about protecting all life on earth. Coming in December!
To find out more about IPBES, head to www.ipbes.net or follow us on social media @IPBES.

Getting Things Done: Super-Charging Science Policy Through Youth Engagement

Young leaders around the world increasingly use their voices and power to fight for the future of our planet and their own. In the final episode of this season, Rob opens a window on the important role young people play in the work of IPBES – and the growing number of opportunities for youth involvement in IPBES processes. With insights from one of the IPBES colleagues responsible for these activities, Diem Hong Thi Tran, and perspectives from a young Indigenous IPBES stakeholder, Kantuta Conde Choque, find out more about the tremendous contributions youth are making to strengthen science and policy for nature. 
 
You can find the episode about the IPBES fellowship here: link.chtbl.com/TheIPBESFellowship
 
To find out more about IPBES, head to www.ipbes.net or follow us on social media @IPBES.

Aliens on Your Doorstep: Invasive Species and You

Did you know aliens live among us? IPBES just launched its landmark new Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control – the largest study ever of its kind. Join Brit as she speaks with one of the co-chairs of that Assessment, Professor Helen Roy, about her enthusiasm for addressing these risks and her optimism about our chances to reduce biological invasions and their very damaging impacts. Brit also interviews Dr. Maria Loreto Castillo about how the simple beaver has become the focus of some very complex opinions in different parts of the world.
 
You can listen to the playlist Helen mentioned here: open.spotify.com/playlist/2YvpQrvhQxvUm9AirBlcvW?si=MBXLr8Q8QIOdaOcwTmbFbA&nd=1
 
To find out more about IPBES, head to www.ipbes.net or follow us on social media @IPBES.

No Room for Hopelessness: Media Challenges and Opportunities Covering the Global Biodiversity Crisis

We hear news about climate change every day in the media, but in contrast, biodiversity is often overlooked or relegated to minor mentions. In this episode, Rob ‘flips the script’ and puts journalists who normally report on biodiversity and nature into the spotlight. He talks to Patrick Greenfield from The Guardian and Observer, and Sahana Ghosh from Nature India, about the challenges and opportunities when covering biodiversity news. Find out more about the power and responsibility of the media in helping to get these messages out about the global biodiversity crisis – to audiences in both the global North and the global South.
 
To find out more about IPBES, head to www.ipbes.net or follow us on social media @IPBES.

Poles of Possibility: Values of Nature Beyond Use

This week, we’re traveling to the South Pole. Brit finds out more about an epic expedition to Antarctica by one of the IPBES assessment co-chairs, Professor Mike Christie, and his Paralympian teammate, Karen Darke. Get the inside track on their phenomenal adventure, and find out how an extreme landscape, not known for its biodiversity, helped them to better understand the tremendous values of nature beyond use. 
 
The sounds from Antarctica were recorded by Mike Webster, who followed Mike and Karen on their expedition.
 
To find out more about IPBES, head to www.ipbes.net or follow us on social media @IPBES.

Widening the IPBES Tent: Stakeholder Diversity for Better Science and Policy

Stakeholders are an important part of every organization, but in IPBES, they are especially important. They are not only beneficiaries of the work, but are also active participants. Join Rob as he delves deep into why stakeholder engagement is a vital part of the IPBES DNA, and how important it is to bring into IPBES the widest possible range of voices, evidence and knowledge systems – for stronger science. You’ll hear from Flore Lafaye de Micheaux, former IPBES Stakeholder Engagement Officer; Joji Cariño, the coordinator of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IIFBES); and Dr. Håkon Stokland, main organizer of the Social Sciences and Humanities Network (SSH Network).
 
To find out more about IPBES, head to www.ipbes.net or follow us on social media @IPBES.

Filling the Fungi Gap: Scaling Himalayan Heights for People and Nature

Did you know that there are thousands of undiscovered species of fungi around the world? In Nepal alone, it is estimated we know only 1/10 of all species! What does this knowledge gap mean for science, nature and people? And why do fungi matter? In this episode, Brit speaks to a mushroom scientist from Nepal, Dr. Shiva Devkota, about climbing Mount Everest in search of new species and new knowledge.
 
To find out more about IPBES, head to www.ipbes.net or follow us on social media @IPBES.