Are you interested in the work of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)? Do you to take action for biodiversity and nature's contributions to people? Join ONet: we welcome both individuals and organisations.

ONet fosters communication between stakeholders and IPBES. We help disseminate the platform's work and strengthen support for IPBES. We support capacity-building in service of biodiversity and nature's contributions to people.

 

 

Access ONet's virtual space

Once you have joined ONet, our newsletter will keep you up to date. Members also gain enhanced access to our virtual space through this website:

Comment on the latest news.

Invite others to your events: we're interested in events related to IPBES, as well as events related to biodiversity and nature in almost any way.

Showcase your work under the respected ONet subdomain. Share your news, stories, ideas, and research: on IPBES, biodiversity, and nature. We look forward to your article!

Find others who share your interests: access ONet's member list.

 

ONet on social media

Follow ONet on social media: find us on Facebook and X. Let us know that you are an ONet member: we'll follow you and may promote your events and posts.

We kindly ask ONet's members to follow the social media terms of engagement that have been agreed by the ONet community.

 

 

Meet with ONet

ONet mainly engages virtually, to serve a global membership. We still have many opportunities to meet each other:

ONet Caucus Days
These virtual events usually take place several times a year: you'll meet other members of ONet, share ideas and experiences among stakeholders, receive updates on IPBES's work and ways to engage with IPBES, and more.

IPBES Stakeholder Days
Each IPBES Stakeholder Day is an engaging and interactive conference, designed by stakeholders for stakeholders. Stakeholder Days typically take place the day before an IPBES plenary, at the location of the plenary. They are organised in close collaboration with the IPBES Secretariat. We look forward to seeing you there! If you have an idea for Stakeholder Day and would like to organise a session, please email the facilitation team.

ONet at IPBES plenaries
At each IPBES plenary, an ONet member is usually given the floor to present a Stakeholder Opening Statement, on behalf of ONet and the IPBES stakeholders. We jointly craft these statements in a collaborative and iterative process. This is your opportunity to be heard by IPBES and all its members and observers. If the plenary's time allows, an ONet member also gives a closing statement.

ONet usually also organises and coordinates a space for stakeholders who are present at plenaries, to meet and work together in person: while ONet does not have observer status at plenaries, many of its members do.

Meetings with the IPBES Secretariat
ONet promotes regular virtual meetings of stakeholders with the IPBES Secretariat. We meet the secretariat together with the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IIFBES), IPBES's other stakeholder network. These get-togethers are your chance to receive updates on IPBES's ongoing work, exchange ideas, and personally ask the secretariat your questions.

ONet Webinars
We host webinars according to stakeholders' needs and interests: we may host for example researchers or expert practitioners. If you have an idea for an ONet Webinar or would like to organise one, please email the facilitation team.

 

 

Engage your community

Host an uptake event
IPBES encourages and supports uptake events: these are almost any event that introduces people to IPBES's work, and encourages them to engage with it and use it. If you are planning an uptake event, you are welcome to contact the IPBES Secretariat: for example, they may be able to introduce you to an IPBES expert for your event, or provide hard copies of relevant IPBES publications.

ONet can help you advertise your uptake event: please publish it on the events page. If you let us know sufficiently in advance, we can also promote it on social media for you, and include it with the ONet newsletter: please email the facilitation team.

Publish your impact or contribution to capacity building
Have you or your organisation successfully used an IPBES product? For example in decision-making, research, or a project? IPBES tracks these impacts publicly: you are warmly invited to share your achievement in the IPBES Impact Tracking Database (TRACK).

Are you or your organisation engaged in capacity-building with respect to IPBES's work? Does you project enhance learning and engagement, facilitate access to expertise and information, and/or strengthen national and regional capacities? IPBES collects and publishes these experiences: get inspired by others' submissions and add your own.

In addition, you are invited to publish your impact story or your experience in capacity-building on ONet, under the respected ONet subdomain: we look forward to all the details of your experience! If you like, feel free to include photos, graphics, or even a video clip.

Establish a community of practice
IPBES encourages communities of practice: "self-organizing groups of experts, policymakers and/or practitioners who work to increase access to expertise and information on a specific topic or focus area."

At ONet, we can for instance provide your community of practice with a virtual space, promote your work, and help it grow: email the facilitation team to discuss your options. For an example, the SSH Network was initiated as a community of practice, and is now a permanent subgroup in ONet.

Show your support for IPBES
Choose your free virtual background for video conferences. Select from a range of themes and beautiful images of nature, hand-picked by IPBES to illustrate the platform's work.

 

 

Share your ideas & contributions

Pursue your initiative
If you have an idea or initiative that you would like to pursue, we encourage you to do so. ONet welcomes for example projects, events, or working groups that address specific topics. The virtual space on this website and the ONet facilitation team can support you in advertising and promoting your initiative among the ONet community.

Share your idea with us
The members of the ONet facilitation team are members of the ONet community who volunteer their time to manage the network. We welcome your ideas, questions, and suggestions: please email us. There may be some delay before you get a response due to the voluntary nature of the network.

Donate to ONet
ONet membership is free and comes at no financial cost: we seek to be as inclusive as possible, coming together worldwide, in service to biodiversity and nature's contributions to people. Making ONet available, however, does require some resources: would you, your community, or your organisation like to voluntarily donate to the network? ONet welcomes both financial and in-kind contributions, in alignment with the Financial Procedures for IPBES. We would be delighted to hear of your offer; please email the facilitation team.

 

 

Interested in the photographs on this page?
They illustrate a selection of aquatic habitats. The photographs also show some of the ways in which these habitats contribute to people's lives. Learn more in the IPBES Assessment report on the sustainable use of wild species.

 

Image credits
Artem Firsov (Wonderful Nature) | Shutterstock
Quang Nguyen Vinh | Pexels
Oleg Doroshenko (OlegD) | Shutterstock
Dudarev Mikhail | Shutterstock
IPBES