Biodiversity and ecosystem services are key to the success of our Sustainable Development Goals. The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), together with the IPBES technical support unit on capacity-building, invited young professionals and conservationists to the International Academy for Nature Conservation on Vilm to involve young people more closely in the work of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and deepen their understanding of its activities and products.

The participants, aged between 18 and 30, work in the fields of biodiversity, ecosystem services, and nature conservation, including the connection to water, food, health, and climate change, or processes and activities of transformative change. Working together on practical cases, they were able to contribute their perspectives and deepen their knowledge of the IPBES assessments. The thematic focus was on the IPBES Nexus Assessment, which examines the links between biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate change, as well as the IPBES Assessment on Transformative Change (2024). The “nexus approach” showed how sectors are interconnected and helped to identify synergies and minimize conflicting goals. 

During the workshop, participants learned about IPBES processes and explored ways to involve young people in IPBES activities. In several focus sessions, they exchanged views on the IPBES assessments and the Nature Futures Framework, worked on specific case studies, and deepened the discussions in small working groups. 

Involving young people in the work of IPBES is crucial to promoting acceptance of IPBES findings among young people, organizations, and the general public.

The 25 participants were selected from around 150 applications after being nominated by their national government or an institution/youth organization. As multipliers, they will disseminate and process the results of the workshop within their networks in order to get more young adults excited about the work of IPBES.