It is not only the overall global situation that is looking bleak. Now the USA is also turning its back on the world’s best expertise in biodiversity and nature conservation. This comes after the USA already dismissed important scientists from its own national nature conservation agencies, such as the US Fish and Wildlife Service, last year and largely withdrew from climate protection and development aid worldwide.
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) plays a central role in global environmental governance as the biodiversity equivalent of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). By synthesizing the best available scientific knowledge on biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, and nature’s contributions to people, IPBES provides policymakers worldwide with authoritative assessments essential for informed decision-making.
At the same time, the scientific impact of a U.S. exit may be more limited. IPBES assessments rely on the voluntary contributions of independent experts, and American scientists could continue to participate in their personal capacities. While a U.S. administration under Donald Trump may withdraw formal support, it cannot prevent U.S. experts from contributing their knowledge. Nevertheless, disengagement by one of the world’s leading scientific nations would weaken the multilateral credibility and political weight of IPBES at a moment when strong, science-based global leadership for nature conservation is urgently needed.
The withdrawal of the United States from IPBES would therefore carry symbolic and practical implications. Financially, the loss of U.S. contributions could weaken the platform’s capacity, particularly in supporting assessments, capacity-building, and participation from the Global South. Politically, such a move risks undermining international cooperation at a time when biodiversity loss is accelerating globally.
Now it is all the more important not to let the global relationships between nature (conservation) scientists, built up over decades across national borders and political developments, break down, but to strengthen international cooperation wherever possible. Ultimately, no ruler can prohibit this.