Our Mission
CABES – Capacity Development for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Experts – aims to facilitate a capacity-building framework across Africa in support of the Work Programme of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), particularly in the preparation of IPBES assessments (global, regional, and thematic). CABES serves as a platform to connect scientists from universities, research institutions, and policymakers across Africa in the field of biodiversity and ecosystem services, strengthening the science–policy interface, fostering collaboration, enhancing policy coherence, and reinforcing the expert pool to support and disseminate IPBES assessments.
Our Goals
CABES focuses on equipping professionals across Africa with the skills and knowledge needed to actively contribute to the processes of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The programme is supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN).
Goal one
to inform national decision-making processes amongst multiple stakeholder groups including researchers, practitioners from the public and private sectors, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) holders, women, and IPBES National Focal Points (NFPs) in target countries.
Goal two
to establish a network of science-policy platforms to contribute to the implementation of the IPBES rolling work programmes at national, sub-regional and regional level. Sub-regional refers to countries either in West, Central or East Africa, and the regional level represents the 38 countries.
Goal three
to train early career scientists, researchers and facilitators to manage science-policy interfaces (SPIs). Finally, CABES will develop capacities to support the implementation of political decisions for the management and sustainable use of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services/Nature’s Contributions to People (BES/NCPs).
CABES Introduction Video
The SPIBES MSc Program
Partner Universities
University Félix Houphouët-Boigny (UFHB)
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
University of Lubumbashi
Democratic Republic of Congo
Student Testimonials
“The Problems We Face Are Too Complex for One Elite to Solve” — Aristote Bwende Nkolomoni, DRC
Aristote Bwende Nkolomoni arrived at the SPIBES MSc with a background in agronomy — specifically soil and water — and left with a conviction that the most complex environmental challenges can only be solved collectively. A student from the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 2022–2024 cohort, Aristote embraced the programme’s transdisciplinary approach, developing skills in mixed methods research, knowledge co-production, and stakeholder engagement. Here, he shares what SPIBES has meant to him and the researcher it has helped him become.
“It Gives Me Great Joy to Communicate Science to Different Stakeholders” — Hildah Ikabongo, Zambia
Hildah Ikabongo came to the SPIBES MSc with a passion for environmental protection and a background in Environmental Education. Now conducting fieldwork in the North Swaka Forest Reserve in Zambia’s Central Province, she has gained far more than she anticipated — from policy brief writing and GIS to direct engagement with IPBES assessments as an external reviewer. Here, she reflects on how the programme has shaped her career and her vision for biodiversity conservation in Zambia and beyond.
“This Master’s Allowed Me to Study Conservation Laws in Depth” — Siba Kalivogui, Guinea
Siba Kalivogui is a Water and Forest Engineer from Guinea, currently conducting fieldwork in the forests of Seredou in Forest Guinea. Drawn to the SPIBES MSc by a deep interest in conservation processes across Africa, Siba has used the programme to build an impressive technical toolkit — from biodiversity modelling and plant species inventories to nature-based solutions and GIS technologies. Here, he reflects on what the programme has given him and where he hopes to take it.
More information about our work
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News
CABES/RESPIN Hosts First West Africa Sub-Regional Workshop on Integrated Biodiversity and Climate Policies
The CABES/RESPIN First West Africa Sub-Regional Workshop, hosted by the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), took place
3rd CABES peer-to-peer learning event to prepare for the 12th IPBES Plenary
As part of the CABES Capacity Development Programme (CCDP) for professionals, CABES in collaboration with FRB (Fondation pour la Recherche sur la Biodiversité) organized its
Second free, self-paced course: “UNESCO course: Indigenous Peoples and local communities in Science-Policy-Practice Interfaces in Africa”
🚨 We’re excited to announce the launch of our second free, self-paced version of our course “UNESCO course: Indigenous Peoples and local communities in Science-Policy-Practice
