RESPIN

RESPIN is a European project that aims at improving the way biodiversity and climate knowledge are considered to support decision making, helping to bring IPBES and IPCC closer together and improving the engagement of diverse knowledge holders with these two platforms. 

To inform global action on biodiversity and climate protection, IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) and IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) were created to improve the science-policy interface between knowledge holders and decision makers.  

 

Today, large differences remain between these two platforms, slowing down development of synergies between them: the involvement of member countries in their processes remains uneven and the consideration of different knowledge systems on climate and biodiversity (academic, indigenous, local knowledge, etc.) is still fragmented. The aim of this European project is to evaluate barriers and incentives to the involvement of experts and decision-makers in the IPBES and IPCC processes, and thus encourage the development of the science-policy interface on biodiversity and climate. It will empower knowledge holders and facilitate the uptake of IPBES and IPCC knowledge by decision makers globally.  

  

RESPIN’s main goals are: 

• empowering knowledge holders to enhance the representation across regions, knowledge systems and stakeholder groups in science-policy interface, considering the interlinkages between biodiversity and climate; 
• developing and disseminating online capacity building programs to up-scale best practices and translate relevant project outputs for key stakeholders and decision-makers across the globe; 
• empowering decision makers at different levels across the globe to uptake the knowledge and capacity building provided by IPBES and IPCC;
• developing future perspectives for science-policy interface engagement at EU level, enhancing EU capacities to incorporate IPBES and IPCC functions in their knowledge procedures and funding provisions. 

 

Project coordinator is Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ). RESPIN consortium is comprised of 11 partners from 10 countries across Europe, Latin America, and Africa (Belgium, Bulgaria, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Spain, United Kingdom). It brings together key experts from diverse realms of knowledge – from biodiversity and ecology to climate modelers and economists, social scientists and communication experts. 

 

Within the project, FRB is leading a systemic study to assess the level of involvement of experts and the various knowledge systems (academic and non-academic), as well as the barriers and incentive to their involvement. It also assesses existing capacity-building activities. This study will provide a better understanding of possible collaborations between the IPCC and the IPBES, and the barriers to these collaborations; and the acculturation of experts, to encourage their participation within these two platforms. 

 

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