Between 21st and 31st May this year, I was in Costa Rica for the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment Second Author Meeting and Summary for Policy Makers first meeting. I already blogged last year about what the assessment is about, how the process works etc., and because of the confidentiality of the report, I cannot write about what specific progress we made. I will just confirm that progress was made, and suggest that you sign up for external review towards the end of 2023.
Side note: External review is an important part of the IPBES assessment process. Anyone can put themselves forward as a reviewer – whether they are from research, practice, civil society, etc. A broad range of comments help the authors to identify areas of knowledge they missed, incorporate diverse understandings, and add to the report. The authors must show that they have accounted for your comments. Learn more about the assessment process here, and please do sign up to review when its time (we will remind you!).
Instead of focusing on content or process, I will instead reflect on three of the more personal aspects of being a member of such a diverse and committed team of people, working on Transformative Change.
Sometimes, the location reminds you of your motivation
I try to avoid flying places. I felt genuine internal conflict about flying to Costa Rica for this event that is about Transformative Change. I also really struggled with feeling so far away from my kids (more than 24 hour travel time). But IPBES tries to move meetings around so that different people have to do the worst of the traveling each time – there is no avoiding that in a global group of authors, someone will have to fly. If I am one of those people, then I am grateful that I got to visit the CATIE campus in Turrialba. Morning runs (5am… the only positive of jetlag) were surrounded by montezumas, parrots, vultures, a toucan, a caiman, turtles, cattle egrets… and thankfully no snakes. We had the chance to meet the CATIE staff, see the botanical gardens, and visit the coffee agroforestry site. I got to see first hand how Costa Rica has gone from very little forest cover in the early 1970’s to almost 60% of land as forest in 2020, and what that means for biodiversity. It felt like a very special location to be connecting with the topic of our report.
High intensity work days
With travel time, the authors meeting, and the SPM meeting, I was gone for 10 days. They were intense. Days were packed, and somehow it never felt like there was enough time. While at the meeting, we work in chapter teams to develop the work we are doing there, identify and fill weaknesses, discuss figures, sort out the details. We must also navigate disagreements and different ways of seeing the world. And we must coordinate across chapter groups, making sure that we have common understandings and terminology and work to strengthen each other’s contributions. My day (post run) generally started with breakfast with my co-CLA (only 1 of them, the third was sadly unable to travel) where we recapped the previous day’s outcomes, planned what needed to be done that day, and figured out what we would say at plenary. Then into plenary where all teams come together. Then breakouts into topic based, cross chapter working groups. Then lunch – often an all CLA + co-chair meeting, followed by an afternoon in chapter teams. The afternoon only really ends after dinner when you go to bed. By the end of the meetings, I felt like there was nothing left in my brain.
Time with a special group of people
I feel deeply connected to, and grateful for, many of the other people involved in this Transformative Change assessment. Within our chapter group, it is an absolute honour to work with such a group of people. Everyone has different backgrounds – countries, perspectives, experiences, but everyone comes with a commitment to work intensely to contribute to an assessment that we believe in. One of the benefits of these in-person meetings is to really get to know how everyone works and communicates, and therefore learn from their inputs and ideas. We don’t always agree, but we do always respect each other and seek to find a way forwards.
SustainableCZ 
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