Work has begun on a new IPBES expert assessment on the values and valuation of nature and biodiversity in a Danish context. The expert report is based on the global IPBES report on the same topic, published in 2022 and co-authored by Professor Mette Termansen of the University of Copenhagen.
The majority of the world’s countries, including Denmark, are a long way from meeting key nature and biodiversity targets. A major reason for this is the lack of language, methods, and calculation models for the many values of nature and biodiversity, which are not adequately quantified in euros, kroner, and øre—or that simply cannot be quantified on a monetary scale.
Against this backdrop, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released the global consensus report last year The Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature, also known as the Values Report, which presents methods and models for assessing the economic, social, and environmental values of nature and biodiversity, as well as recommendations for how these can be implemented in policy-making processes.
At the same time, the findings are linked to the need to implement the far-reaching changes required to reverse the biodiversity crisis—a goal that all world leaders have agreed must be achieved. The findings thus set the stage for the upcoming global report from IPBES on the barriers and opportunities for achieving the far-reaching change—or “Transformative Change,” to use IPBES terminology—that is needed.
Learn more about IPBES’s global consensus reports
The global IPBES report on the values and valuation of nature was published in 2022. The photographs in the center and on the right are press photos used in connection with the report’s publication (photos by Getty Images for IPBES).
Kickoff for a New Expert Opinion
Based on the IPBES global “Values” report, the Institute for Food and Resource Economics (IFRO) at the University of Copenhagen organized a full-day workshop on January 31 on the values and valuation of nature and biodiversity with a focus on Denmark, which will culminate later this year with the publication of a new expert opinion from IPBES in Denmark. The goal is—based on the global findings—to present a Danish foundation for translating these findings into national and local decisions and actions.
The expert opinions are a central part of IPBES Denmark’s work to disseminate and convey the knowledge produced by IPBES to Danish decision-makers as well as the general public, based on the global consensus reports. Expert statements are therefore aimed specifically at public and private decision-makers, stakeholders, and the media, but are also publicly available to everyone via the IPBES in Denmark website.
The workshop on January 31 was attended by researchers and subject matter experts from IPBES’s Danish partners: Aalborg University, Aarhus University, Copenhagen Business School, DTU Aqua, the University of Copenhagen, and the University of Southern Denmark. The expert committee’s work included, among other things, guidelines designed to help integrate the various values of nature and biodiversity into political decision-making processes. Economists at the World Economic Forum, IPBES researchers, and many other experts agree that the foundation for our continued development requires that biodiversity considerations not be overlooked.
The workshop also drew on the symposium “The Value of Biodiversity—Fundamental Changes in Our Relationship with Nature,” which was held in June 2023 and included, among others, key authors of the global Values report.
See also: The Value of Biodiversity—Symposium Attracted Over 100 Participants in Copenhagen
The work on drafting the upcoming expert opinion is being led by Professor Mette Termansen of the University of Copenhagen. The other members of the expert panel are: Ana Filipa Faria Flores (SDU), Anders Barfod (AU), Berit Hasler (KU), Carsten Rahbek (KU), David Lusseau (DTU Aqua), Eva Roth (SDU), Finn Arler (AAU), Inge Røpke (AAU), Jette Bredahl Jacobsen (KU), Justine Grønbæk Pors (CBS), Niels Strange (KU), and Signe Normand (AU).
The expert report on the values of biodiversity will be the third published by IPBES in Denmark. Previous publications include “Restoring Marine Biodiversity and the Sustainable Use of Marine Resources” (2021) and “Restoring Biodiversity and Ecosystems” (2020).
The expert opinions can be found and downloaded as PDFs here: Danish IPBES Publications
