Diverse values of nature and people

On 21 April, in Rome, at the Italian headquarters of the European Parliament, a conference will be held for the presentation of the latest IPBES publication entitled "Assessment Report on the Different Value and Valuation of Nature".
IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) is an intergovernmental body established in 2012 under the auspices of the United Nations.

The IPBES aims to provide policymakers and society with scientifically based information on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The IPBES report “Assessment Report on the Different Values ​​and Valuation of Nature”, compiled by 82 experts in social sciences, economics and humanities, states that how nature is valued and accounted for in political and economic decisions is a key driver of the global biodiversity crisis.

The market's prevailing attention to short-term profits and economic growth, according to the IPBES report, has privileged the intensive production of food and fibers and neglected the multiple values ​​and benefits of nature, from ecological ones (mitigation and adaptation to climate, regulation of the water cycle and reduction of risks associated with natural disasters) to relational ones (spiritual, cultural and emotional).

According to the report, the asymmetry of the market's attention with respect to the different categories of values ​​has led to wrong decisions that have reduced people's well-being and contributed to the crises of nature and the climate.

The IPBES report underlines how it is necessary to LIVE:

(from) Nature: provides the resources to support people's livelihoods, needs and wants, such as food and material goods;
(with) Nature: the inherent right of any plant or animal species to thrive independently of human needs;
(in) Nature: the importance of nature as an environment for people's sense of place and identity;
(as) Nature: sees the natural world as a physical, mental and spiritual part of oneself.

The morning session will be attended by the Ministers of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE) and of University and Research (MUR), the President and the Director General of ISPRA as well as numerous international experts. The RAI journalist Sonia Filippazzi will open the meeting and will interview the Executive Secretary of IPBES Anne Larigauderie.

The meeting will be closed by two round tables in which biodiversity conservation experts will discuss some key challenges for the future of biodiversity conservation.

Program

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