Transformative Change Assessment authors celebrate after an intense round of negotiations with countries as the report is finalized for plenary.
A day after the Nexus Assessment (read more here), the International Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released another significant report: the Transformative Change Assessment.
This groundbreaking report, developed over three years by 101 experts from 42 countries and grounded on 7,000 references, explores pathways to achieving a just and sustainable future for people and our planet.
The core principles of Transformative Change
The successful achievement of global development goals hinges on urgent and necessary transformative changes across technology, economy, and society. The assessment emphasises that only foundational reorganisation can help mitigate biodiversity loss.
"We defined and characterised transformative change based on the existing literature," said Dr Yves Zinngrebe, coordinating lead author, RESPIN coordinator, and researcher at UFZ. "It was also about differentiating between different visions, approaches, and challenges for transformative change."
However, a solution to biodiversity loss can only be successful if it integrates the basic and advances human needs for prosperity, well-being and justice. That is why the report identifies several key principles in the basis of transformative change:
Equity and Justice: Ensuring equitable treatment in biodiversity governance and decision-making.
Pluralism and Inclusion: Recognising diverse knowledge systems and involving various stakeholders, especially Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Respectful Relationships with Nature: Fostering reciprocal relationships that sustain both nature and human societies.
Adaptive Learning and Action: Implementing dynamic strategies that allow for learning from successes and failures.
The assessment highlights equity, justice, pluralism, and inclusive governance as fundamental to enabling systemic change. These principles align closely with RESPIN’s commitment to fostering collaborative engagement in biodiversity and climate governance. Through its activities, RESPIN is working to ensure that the Transformative Change Assessment’s emphasis on participatory decision-making is reflected in how science-policy interactions are structured—particularly at national and regional levels.
What is the way forward?
The assessment outlines five core strategies to drive transformative change:
- Conservation through Sustainable Stewardship: Engaging and encouraging conservation initiatives, sustainable and regenerative practices by especially by local communities.
- Driving Systemic Change in Key Sectors Responsible for Biodiversity Loss: Restructuring industries, such as agriculture and forestry, to reduce biodiversity impacts while promoting sustainable consumption.
- Shifting Economic Paradigms: Integrate environmental and social costs into economic decision-making. Reform harmful subsidies and financial mechanisms that degrade biodiversity. Promote sustainable and equitable economic models that reward public good.
- Inclusive Governance Systems: Developing governance structures that promote participation from all stakeholders through transparency, accountability and participation.
- Changing Societal Values: Raising awareness and shifting cultural narratives about human-nature relationships, primarily through education, art and culture.
Each strategy emphasises knowledge co-creation, collaboration, and inclusive decision-making to accelerate transformative change.
Addressing Global Challenges: The Complementary Role of the Nexus and Transformative Change Assessments
The Nexus Assessment and the Transformative Change Assessment work in synergy to tackle global challenges. The Nexus Assessment looks at how problems related to water, food, health, climate, and biodiversity on the tenet that they need to be addressed together. The Transformative Change Assessment offers practical ways to create critical mass changes that consider these connections. Both reports aim for sustainability and fairness, with the Nexus Assessment highlighting the complexity of the issues and the Transformative Change Assessment providing strategies to solve them through inclusive and integrated approaches.
From left to right: Yamini Yogya, Hannah Korinth, Dr. Alex Paulchs, and Dr. Yves Zenngrebe at the IPBES 11 Plenary, celebrating the acceptance of the Transformative Change Assessment Report.
RESPIN's Role in Transformative Change
The Transformative Change Assessment sets out the challenges of achieving a just and sustainable future. As part of a group of EU Horizon-funded transformative change projects- including BioAgora, BioTrails, Transpath, CO-OP4CBD, Biodiversa+, and others - RESPIN works to translate insights from IPBES into practical tools for decision-makers.
Each project will develop resources that identify and clarify obstacles to transformative change. By presenting findings in accessible formats, RESPIN not only increases the reach of the Transformative Change Assessment but also equips policymakers with the knowledge needed to best support transformative actions in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
Governments play a key role in enabling change through policies and international cooperation. Projects like RESPIN will help ensure that decision-making is informed by the science presented in reports such as the Transformative Change Assessment.
By making the Transformative Change Assessment’s findings more accessible, RESPIN supports policymakers in moving from abstract recommendations to applied strategies. The project also emphasizes the need for sustained engagement beyond a single report cycle, ensuring that transformative change remains a continuous process rather than a one-time policy shift.
Stay updated on the RESPIN project to find out more about the efforts made to enable positive change.
