The Pan-European Stakeholder Consultation (PESC) for the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is co-organised by the ECA Network, the RESPIN project, and Biodiversa+. A four-day meeting, referred to as PESC-RESPIN Joint Meeting or PESC8, took place in Brussels from 10 to 14 March 2025.

This event gathered more than a hundred stakeholders, including National Focal Points (NFPs), experts and organisations working at the science-policy interface on biodiversity and climate change in Europe and Central Asia. It provided opportunities for networking and exchanging views on key topics related to engagement with IPBES and the IPCC. The full report of this meeting is available on the RESPIN website. The program, presentations, posters and event report can be found on the PESC-RESPIN page.

CO-OP4CBD left its mark by virtue of two presentations that formed part of the meeting’s agenda. The first was given by project coordinator Nathalie Morata from the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity. It placed CO-OP4CBD in the context of the broader ecosystem of EU-funded projects working within the biodiversity science-policy interface. In that sense, the project was showcased in conjunction with fellow initiatives BioAgora, RESPIN and Biodiversa+. The emphasis was thus on parallel efforts to build up expert and stakeholder networks across Europe and link them to decision-making processes on biodiversity across the continent.

In addition, Tímea Németh of the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research conducted a presentation of a CO-OP4CBD scientific poster. Its primary point of focus was how countries in Central and Eastern Europe are involved in processes related to the Convention on Biological Diversity.