Linking the IPBES Nature Futures Framework with the Transformative Change and the Nexus assessments: Insights from the Regional youth workshop on IPBES for Europe and Central Asia

In this contribution, we reflect and provide insight on the process and results of the IPBES regional youth workshop for Europe and Central Asia 2025 to increase the understanding and use of IPBES products and processes. During the workshop, 25 early-career professionals from 3 Central Asian countries and 19 European countries came together to explore links between two recent key IPBES assessments, the Transformative Change Assessment and the Nexus Assessment, as well as the Nature Futures Framework, through different participatory methods. The workshop sessions highlighted the Nature Futures Framework and its intrinsic, relational, and instrumental values presented in the Values Assessment (IPBES 2022), response options of the Transformative Change Assessment (IPBES, 2024), as well as the interlinkages among the five nexus elements biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate change from the Nexus Assessment (IPBES, 2024). Understanding the interactions between these components is critical for effectively implementing them in projects and case studies. However, research linking the frameworks and insights from the different IPBES assessments remains limited. In this context, the workshop applied the IPBES sequence of assessing knowledge, interpreting values, and analysing cross-sectoral linkages to identify leverage points for transformative change across society.This contribution will outline the methods used during the workshop to link the assessments’ findings and policy recommendations to the collaborative findings developed by the youth participants. We critically reflect on the methodology of the activities in terms of their usefulness in familiarizing youth participants with the IPBES frameworks and products and promoting their application, as well as their implementation in different geographical contexts. It further discusses the outcomes and results generated during the workshop in terms of their methodological robustness and relevance to advancing the conceptual links between the different IPBES assessments and frameworks. Building on the participants’ feedback, the contribution outlines recommendations for future youth engagement activities across all stages of knowledge production and dissemination in order to enhance the uptake and implementation of IPBES products.