For over two years, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, formed by the United Nations in 2012, conducted four regional assessments of biodiversity and ecosystems services. Brian Klatt, director of the Michigan Natural Features Inventory, a program of Michigan State University Extension, was a coordinating lead author for the Americas assessment, leading a team of 15 scientists, from eight countries, to synthesize information on trends in biodiversity, the factors affecting biodiversity, the likely implications of those trends and the actions humans can take to lessen the factors negatively affecting biodiversity.
The Americas assessment found that while the Americas possess a phenomenal amount of biodiversity, human activities have decreased biodiversity (as measured by mean species abundance) by 30 percent since European settlement, with an anticipated loss of an additional 10 percent by 2050 unless steps are taken; the most promising pathways are to lessen human consumption and address climate change.
The four regional assessments were approved in March 2018, and the summaries for policy makers for all four regions are now available at https://www.ipbes.net/event/ipbes-6-plenary.
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