Fauna in decline: global assessments.

Abstract

The Policy Forum “Wildlife decline and social conflict” (J. S. Brashares et al., 25 July, p. 376) points to the need for a formalized, international, multidisciplinary program with government involvement that can address the detrimental environmental and social consequences of wildlife depletion. They suggest creating a working group from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) as a platform. This program is now closed and has been replaced by an even stronger body intended to support this kind of work, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Established in 2012, IPBES has been approved by 119 nations and has many characteristics of the IPCC. IPBES has an explicit objective to “strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services…” (1). It is conducting issue-specific assessments as well as regional and global assessments. It could serve as a suitable platform for a detailed global assessment of the natural and social consequences of wildlife decline, as called for by Brashares et al.