Become a reviewer for the IPBES nexus assessment

The first external review of the thematic assessment of the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food and health (nexus assessment) is open from 9 January to 19 February 2023 (6 weeks). You can now become a reviewer for the first draft of the chapters of the IPBES nexus assessment!

By becoming a reviewer you’ll be involved in one of the most important phases in the IPBES assessment process. The IPBES seeks the widest possible participation and most diverse engagement of interested and qualified experts, including scientists, decision makers, practitioners and other knowledge holders from all relevant disciplines and backgrounds. This is vital to ensure the scientific quality, credibility and policy relevance of the assessment. Your expertise is crucial as your comments will help us to develop a better and more comprehensive assessment. The names of all expert reviewers will be acknowledged in the reports and the responses from the authors will be made available online once the assessment is approved.

Interested? Put your expertise to great use and become a reviewer of the IPBES nexus assessment! Please follow the steps described below.

Step 1: log in on the IPBES website

You already have an account? Log in to your IPBES account.

You don’t have an IPBES account? Create your account.

Step 2: Apply to become an external reviewer

You need to register in order to become external reviewer of the first order drafts of the nexus assessment.

Please register here: for the nexus assessment. You must be logged in to see this page.

Step 3: Access the documents and review them

Once registered on the IPBES website, you will immediately receive an email providing confidential access to the draft chapters and the glossary on this link: https://ipbes.net/nexus/fod. You must be logged in to see this page.

To provide your comments, use the the excel table “Nexus assessment review template”. Note that only comments submitted in English and via this template will be accepted and each comment should be entered in a single row of the comment spreadsheet.

Guidance on comments:

Please focus on providing substantive comments that address content rather than providing comments on editing or formatting.
General comments are welcome, but specific line-by-line comments are particularly helpful.
Literature suggestions are welcome.

You can review one or multiple documents depending on your interest, expertise and time. The following drafts are available for review:

Chapter 1. Introducing the nexus
Chapter 2. Status and past trends of interactions in the nexus
Chapter 3. Future interactions across the nexus
Chapter 4. Policy and socio-political options across the nexus that could facilitate and accelerate the transition to a range of sustainable futures
Chapter 5.1. Options for delivering sustainable approaches to water
Chapter 5.2. Options for delivering sustainable food systems
Chapter 5.3. Options for delivering sustainable approaches to health
Chapter 5.4. Options for delivering sustainable approaches to biodiversity conservation, restoration and sustainable use
Chapter 5.5. Options for delivering sustainable biodiversity-related approaches to climate change, adaptation and mitigation, including relevant aspects of the energy system
Chapter 6. Options for delivering sustainable approaches to public and private finance for biodiversity-related elements of the nexus
Chapter 7. Summary and synthesis of options, knowledge and technology gaps and capacity development (summary chapter for chapters 4, 5, and 6)
Glossary

Step 4: You can attend the online dialogue on the nexus assessment

Two online dialogues with stakeholders, including practitioners, are scheduled in the context of the first external review of the assessment:

9 February 2023: 9-11 a.m. CET
9 February 2023: 6-8 p.m. CET

Please note that you need to register as a reviewer to participate in the dialogues (step 2 above). You will receive the dialogue registration link by email after you register as a reviewer.

Step 5: Submit your comments

When you are ready to submit your comments, please upload your completed Excel template no later than 19 February 2023. You must be logged in to upload your template.

Questions?