Bridgewater, PeterSchmeller, Dirk S.2019-11-240960-3115http://hdl.handle.net/1885/186524The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) held its 6th plenary session in Medellin (Colombia) during March 2018. Several assessments were due for acceptance by the plenary. We here give news from the plenary and the platform, sketch out important key messages from the regional assessments as well as of the global thematic assessment on land degradation and restoration. We further give an outlook on the work ahead and potential for contributions from the scientific community to the important work of IPBES.application/pdfen-AU© Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018201810.1007/s10531-018-1569-z2019-05-19