New editions of IPBES in Denmark’s educational booklets on the biodiversity crisis will be available this summer, including new knowledge about Danish and global biodiversity and planetary boundaries.
Most people have heard of the biodiversity crisis, but few have a comprehensive overview of its extent, causes and – not least – its solutions. With the ambition of putting the topic on the agenda in Danish secondary schools, a series of teaching materials were developed and published by IPBES in Denmark with support from Aage V. Jensen Naturfond in January 2022.
The materials, which consist of three teaching booklets, a teacher’s guide and a series of videos, have since been widely distributed, with the booklets downloaded by approximately 100 high schools, approximately 130 other institutions and well over 100 individuals.
The materials are now undergoing a major update with new editions to be released in June, updating the three booklets on the biodiversity crisis with the latest knowledge. For example, the updates will affect the section on the so-called planetary boundaries in booklet 2.
In the new edition, all nine planetary boundaries have now been added and updated based on a new research study, led by Professor Katherine Richardson from the University of Copenhagen, which was published in the fall of 2023 under great global media attention. Six of the nine planetary boundaries are estimated to have been exceeded. Therefore, it makes sense to include information about the new targets from the biodiversity summit in Montreal in 2022 in the new booklets.
In addition to the content being updated with new knowledge, all booklets are given a visual boost by Grafisk Produktion in Odense and with new illustrations by Marie Rubæk Holm.
Solutions and options at the center
The purpose of the booklets is to ensure that Danish high school students gain greater knowledge about the situation of both Danish and global biodiversity and the associated ecosystem services. At the same time, the aim is to motivate students to engage in reflections and discussions about possible solutions and options for action.
The update therefore includes new information based on the global IPBES reports, of which three new reports have been adopted since the teaching materials were first published.
In addition, a new set of global biodiversity targets was adopted in Montreal in December 2022 to be met by 2030, and requirements have also been further developed in the EU for private companies to report and disclose biodiversity accounting, including nature restoration and conservation.
At a national level, the Danish Biodiversity Council has published two reports targeting Danish biodiversity, which, among other things, proposes that Denmark meets and contributes equally with other countries to the international goals of the UN and EU to reverse the biodiversity crisis.
The booklets will be ready in June, where they can be downloaded fromIPBES in Denmark’s website and included in teaching after the summer break. The booklets will also be presented during Folkemødet on Bornholm in 2024.
The project also contributes to the Experimentarium’s exhibition on biodiversity and the biodiversity crisis in the form of video clips. The exhibition will run for the next five years under the title Biodiversity – Earth’s diversity of animals and plants.
