• The Asahi Glass Foundation, based in Japan, announced that the Intergovernmental Platform on  Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has been selected as one of the two recipients of the 2024 Blue Planet Prize.

• The other laureate is Robert Costanza, from the Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London, who has been recognised for his foundational contributions to the field of ecological economics.

• In a 1997 paper, Costanza and colleagues demonstrated, for the first time, that the ecosystem services provided by nature to humans far exceed the economic value of the world’s GDP at that time. This work brought global attention to the previously understated importance of ecosystem services. 

• As a co-founder of ecological economics, a new field of study that recognises that the economy is embedded in society and a finite biosphere, Costanza actively advocates for an ecologically sustainable, well-being society.

What is IPBES?

• The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent inter-governmental body established by States to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development. 

• It was established in Panama City, on April 21, 2012 by 94 governments.

• It has over 145 Member States. 

• India is a founding member of IPBES.

• IPBES provides policymakers with objective scientific assessments about the state of knowledge regarding the planet’s biodiversity, ecosystems and the contributions they make to people, as well as options and actions to protect and sustainably use these vital natural assets.

• The mission of IPBES is to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development.

• It is not a United Nations body. However, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provides secretariat services to IPBES. 

• Scientists from all parts of the world contribute to the work of IPBES on a voluntary basis.

• IPBES Secretariat is situated in Bonn, Germany.

• IPBES Plenary, the governing body made up of the representatives of IPBES Member States, usually meets once per year.

Blue Planet Prize

• In 1992, the year of the Earth Summit, the Asahi Glass Foundation established the Blue Planet Prize.

• Among the top global sustainability awards, the Blue Planet Prize is awarded annually to individuals and organisations to recognise outstanding achievements in scientific research and its application, which have helped provide solutions to global environmental problems. 

• The Prize is offered in the hope of encouraging efforts to bring about the healing of the Earth’s fragile environment.

• The award’s name was inspired by the remark “the Earth is blue”, uttered by the first human in space, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, upon viewing our planet.

• Nominations are solicited between August and October of each year from all over the world. As a general rule, two recipients are chosen annually.

• Each recipient is presented with a certificate of merit, a commemorative trophy, and $500,000 in prize money.

• Past winners include prominent figures in the field of conservation and sustainable development, as well as some scientists.