A national ecosystem assessment provides countries with a comprehensive and critical synthesis of knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem services framed around key policy questions.
However, national decision-making for years has been unable to fully consider relevant knowledge and information that captures the value of biodiversity and ecosystem services, resulting in widespread biodiversity loss. Tools and approaches that support the integration into decision-making knowledge related to biodiversity and ecosystems services are thus crucial to avoid future losses.
To explore how national ecosystem assessments can facilitate the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), this report lays out the status of and trends in biodiversity and ecosystem services worldwide, highlighting the value and effectiveness of different policy options, drivers of change, and the impacts those drivers have or could have in the future.