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BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, October 9 (IPS) – Global biodiversity is disappearing at breakneck speed and, in the process, threatening the future of humanity. The loss is not a future threat but a present crisis that Dr. Luthando Dziba, the new Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), believes can be tackled with science-based policy action.
Dziba assumes his role at a pivotal moment. A landmark IPBES report, launched last December, had a stark warning: biodiversity decline is galloping, whipped by humanity’s disconnect from and dominance of nature, coupled with the inequitable concentration of power and wealth.
So, how does he envision IPBES turning the tide?
“IPBES is not a new platform,” Dziba explained. “It has built a strong tradition of co-producing knowledge with member states. We are now launching our second global biodiversity assessment, alongside critical work on monitoring and spatial planning. This isn’t just about producing reports; it’s about creating a social process for change.”
The “social process” is key to IPBES’s model. Member governments prioritize key biodiversity challenges that IPBES should focus on in its research and participate in the design of the assessments. Through continuous reviews and a collaborative scoping process, there is an integration between science and policy.
Prior to his appointment at IPBES, Dziba had a strong history of working in biodiversity in his native South Africa as well as internationally. He joined the South African National Parks (SANParks) in July 2017 as the Managing Executive for Conservation Services, which oversees Scientific Services, Veterinary Services, Conservation Planning and Cultural Heritage.
Before joining SANParks, Luthando managed the ecosystem services research area at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), leading a team of more than 50 researchers on biodiversity, ecosystem services, coastal systems, and earth observation.
Dziba has served as the co-chair of the Africa Regional Ecosystem Assessment, commissioned by IPBES and published in 2018. He has been an advisor to South Africa’s delegations at the IPBES plenaries, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Combating Science Skepticism
Beyond the well-documented drivers of biodiversity loss—pollution, unplanned development, and unsustainable consumption—Dziba identifies a greater emerging threat: the credibility of science itself.
“A growing challenge that we are going to have to confront is the question around the credibility of the science that underpins the work of IPBES,” Dziba told IPS in an exclusive interview. “We want to ensure that we continue to produce credible work, policy-relevant work but not policy-prescriptive work, which allows governments to take the knowledge and information that we produce to make policy-relevant decisions.”
Dziba, a veteran conservationist and thought leader, says IPBES has excelled in providing groundbreaking science assessment reports that have informed policy and decision-making on biodiversity conservation.
Established in 2012, IPBES unites over 145 member governments in providing independent, science-based assessments on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Its mission is to deliver credible knowledge that informs policymakers and drives sustainable action.
Dziba identifies key threats, including unchecked human population growth, unplanned development, pollution, and consumption patterns to biodiversity. A critical challenge is maintaining the credibility of scientific work while producing policy-relevant—not policy-prescriptive—knowledge to empower governments to make informed decisions.
The First IPBES Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, launched in 2020, highlighted the need to integrate biodiversity considerations in global decision-making in all sectors because effective biodiversity conservation needed a multifaceted approach. The assessment noted alarming rates of habitat loss, particularly in tropical forests and coral reefs, and stressed that the overarching causes of biodiversity loss are closely linked to human resource use.
An IPBES report, Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control, found that more than 37,000 alien species have been introduced by many human activities to regions and biomes around the world. The report found that the global economic cost of invasive alien species exceeded USD 423 billion annually in 2019, with costs having at least quadrupled every decade since 1970.
The solution to global biodiversity loss, Dziba argued, is in transformative, “nexus” approaches that look at issues holistically.
“We need to take a nexus approach and not just tinker at the edges when we are facing problems but rather look at transformative ways of pushing meaningful solutions that bring about change,” he told IPS. “We believe that we will be able to shift towards issues that have an impact not just at a local scale but at a wider scale that are positive for biodiversity and the people.”
When asked how IPBES plans to affect global policy as biodiversity continues to decline, Dziba pointed out that they are currently working on assessments that improve understanding and monitoring related to global biodiversity plans.
“We co-produce knowledge with member states and experts, ensuring our assessments respond directly to policy needs,” he explained.
He stressed IPBES’s agility in tackling emerging challenges, pointing to expert analyses during the COVID pandemic of the links between biodiversity and pandemics, as well as integrating climate change considerations.
Only transformative solutions can reverse biodiversity loss and benefit people globally,” Dziba notes.
Yet there are promising models. He points to a compelling case from rural Senegal, where the scourge of bilharzia was tackled not just as a health issue but through a biodiversity lens. By addressing the pollution and invasive species that allowed the parasitic worms to thrive and using the cleared invasives for livestock feed, communities saw a 32 percent reduction of infection in children and improved livelihoods.
Africa’s conservation successes, such as saving the white rhino and protecting primate habitats through innovative community-based strategies, exemplify effective conservation shaped by combining science and local knowledge.
Dziba emphasizes IPBES’s unique collaborative process: governments engage actively from the outset in designing and reviewing assessments alongside experts, integrating both scientific and indigenous knowledge.
Weaving Local Wisdom
A cornerstone of IPBES’s credibility has been its pioneering effort to embed scientific knowledge with local and indigenous knowledge.
“We make a very deliberative effort to integrate indigenous and local knowledge right from the start,” Dziba said. The platform appoints knowledge holders as experts, holds dialogues, and has a specific taskforce to guide the process. This ensures that the assessments reflect an understanding of how ecosystems function and impact the communities.
Balancing economic development with biodiversity protection is a persistent challenge. While not a policymaker itself, IPBES supports governments by synthesizing evidence on sustainable management and conservation of ecosystems.
Looking ahead to enhancing global collaboration, Dziba said he is committed to strengthening partnerships with UN agencies and conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). These alliances are key to embedding IPBES’s scientific advice into international policy and action.
For Dziba, success during his tenure means delivering timely, high-quality assessments that decisively shape the post-2030 global biodiversity agenda. He also prioritizes securing IPBES’s financial sustainability through innovative funding, including engaging the private sector and philanthropic foundations—a critical strategy amid global economic uncertainty.
“It’s going to take more than just publishing an assessment,” he conceded. “It’s going to take an intentional strategy. Engaging businesses and philanthropies is not just about funding; it’s about recognizing the deep links between biodiversity and sustainable development.”
His ultimate goal is to ensure that when policymakers are asked about what they are doing to protect biodiversity, the answers are informed by the best possible science.
Dziba believes that, with the planet in peril, bridging science and policy is a lifeline to stop biodiversity loss and secure a sustainable future.
IPS UN Bureau Report
© Inter Press Service (20251009113236) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service
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