Jun.-Prof. Dr. Lisa Biber-Freudenberger
"Coherent political decision making requires scientific approaches that are able to consider the complex interactions between biodiversity loss and human well-being while being clear about the core messages."
Yesim Pascal
Foto bereitgestellt von Lisa Biber-Freudenberger.
Personal details:
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Lisa Biber-Freudenberger, Human-Environment Interactions, Land Use, Human Development
Research Group Leader looking at interactions between biodiversity conservation and other forms of land use as well as the impact of decision-making and the consideration of complex interactions between policy goals.
Institutional affiliation:
Center for Development Research, University Bonn
Further information:
www.zef.de
Google scholar Profil (Publikationsliste)
Author in which expert group/task force (past and present); other roles in the IPBES process, if applicable:
- Lead author for the IPBES Nexus Assessment; Chapter 2: status and past trends of basic interactions in the nexus and Chapter 7: Summary and synthesis of options, knowledge and technology gaps and capacity development
- Lead author for the IPBES Spatial Planning Assessment; Chapter 2: Implementing target 1 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework on biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning.
- Reviewer of various assessments
Questions:
What is your motivation to actively participate in the IPBES process?
The loss of biodiversity is one of the biggest crises for humanity with irreversible negative impacts on our livelihoods. To solve this crisis we need to raise awareness among decision-makers and the public about the importance and magnitude of this issue across different sectors. Therefore, I want to contribute to science-based policies for the conservation of biodiversity.
What do you consider as being original and special about IPBES?
IPBES has the potential to streamline scientific messages and provide them to decision-makers in a concise and poly-relevant way. This is not an easy task but a very important one nonetheless, in particular as biodiversity as well as biodiversity loss has many different dimensions.
For which chapter/s did you apply and what would be a good result from your point of view?
In the Nexus Assessment: Chapter 2: Status and past trends of basic interactions in the nexus and Chapter 7: Summary and synthesis of options, knowledge and technology gaps and capacity development of the Nexus Assessment and in the Spatial Planning Assessment: Chapter 2: Implementing target 1 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework on biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning. For both assessments the best result would be if the knowledge and evidence is being picked up by decision-makers to drive change towards a more sustainable future.
Which experiences have you already make science-policy-interfaces?
In my research group we conduct research on science-policy-interfaces to try to understand how they can integrate complex interactions between different land use sectors and related sectoral decision-making. I have been part of the German IPBES Network and an observer to a number of IPBES plenaries. I have also reviewed some products from IPBES and been part of the science-policy-interface Eklipse, as an author but also as a standing member of the methods expert group.
Which opportunities and challenges do you expect when engaging in such interfaces?
The biggest chance for me is to support decision-making with the best available scientific knowledge and push biodiversity conservation on the political agenda by making them aware of the importance and the magnitude of the crisis. I hope that this will support the transformation of different sectors having a direct or indirect impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services.
What would be your personal wish for the future of IPBES?
I hope that IPBES will receive increasing attention in the global policy-arena and unfold its impact not only at international but also national scale, where most decisions regarding land use and biodiversity are made. Furthermore, I hope that IPBES will be recognized for its excellent work not only in terms of recognition but also sufficient funding, in particular for the involvement of countries from the global south.
