Video: Science-based policy to protect biodiversity -Insights from the IPBES Nexus Assessment

on July 31, 2025

IPBES Nexus Assessment interview with Andrea Pacheco
CLEVER researcher Andrea Pacheco shares insights from the IPBES Nexus Assessment

How can we design policies that support biodiversity while also addressing climate change, food systems, health, and water? In this video interview, Andrea Pacheco, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bonn and part of the CLEVER project, shares insights from her work as a fellow in the IPBES Nexus Assessment. This global scientific effort brings together experts from around the world to identify solutions that benefit multiple sectors without creating harmful trade-offs.

Growing up in Honduras, where lush cloud forests and vibrant coral reefs shaped her early fascination with nature, Andrea developed a strong sense of the human–nature connection. Today, through her work with CLEVER and IPBES, she explores how current economic and policy systems can better support biodiversity. “Trade liberalization can increase food availability and have positive outcomes for health and nutrition,” she explains, “but it may come at the detriment of biodiversity, as we look at in the CLEVER project.” One CLEVER case study, for example, investigates how EU soy imports from Brazil impact biodiversity in producer regions.

Andrea highlights how the Nexus Assessment offers evidence-based response options that support biodiversity, health, food, climate, and water together, rather than advancing one goal at the cost of another. A key focus of her work is on sustainable finance. She calls for a major shift in both public and private funding, noting that “we need to decrease this spending that’s directly harmful to biodiversity… and massively increase the spending that protects or restores it, ideally in a nexus-oriented way.” For this to happen, transparency and equity in biodiversity finance are essential. Governments and the private sector must disclose how funds are spent to close persistent financing gaps and promote fairness in distribution.

Curious how science can inform more effective and just environmental decisions? Watch the video below, and explore the findings in the IPBES Nexus Assessment.

Video: How does our consumption impact forests?

on June 3, 2025

How does our consumption impact forests?

We’re living in a time of growing environmental urgency, and protecting the world’s forests has never been more critical. Rainforests like the Amazon and the Congo Basin play a key role in fighting climate change by storing vast amounts of carbon and supporting incredible biodiversity. Yet these vital ecosystems are under threat—driven by global demand for commodities like soy, beef, and timber. What we consume in Europe often has hidden links to deforestation in distant regions.

Using the case of soy imports from Brazil, this video highlights the complex connections between international regulations, global trade, and biodiversity loss. The CLEVER project provides research to support transformative change by helping shape fairer, more effective policies for forest protection. Watch the video below to better understand the role we all play in protecting our planet’s forests.

Video: Making land-use regulations more effective and just

on April 28, 2025

Making land-use regulations more effective and just

Insights from CLEVER Researcher Rafaella F. Ziegert on the EUDR, land-use and policy interaction in Brazil

What happens when global trade regulations meet local realities? In this video interview, Rafaella Ferraz Ziegert, a researcher with the CLEVER project and PhD candidate at the University of Freiburg, shares her perspective on the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) — the first transnational policy designed to reduce the EU’s contribution to deforestation and land degradation abroad. While the EUDR aims to protect forests, it may also lead to unintended consequences in producer countries like Brazil, especially when it overlaps or conflicts with existing national policies.

Rafaella draws on her experience conducting environmental impact assessments across Brazil— a vast country with abundant land, yet one that faces intense pressure to meet multiple demands: food production, climate regulation, carbon storage, and mineral extraction. The central challenge? How to manage land use in a way that supports both people and the planet.

Instead of framing it as a conflict between forest conservation and agriculture, Rafaella sees it as a “nexus”—a space where solutions can emerge when sectors work together. Through CLEVER, she investigates how land-use policies and regulations interact, and which combinations can lead to more sustainable outcomes.

Reflecting on her research, she shares three key takeaways:

  1. Territorial regulations may yield more sustainable results than specific supply chain policies.
  2. Transnational policies should build on efforts, systems and standards already in place in producer countries.
  3. Inclusive policy making—involving all actors in the different types of public and private regulation—is essential.

Want to learn more about CLEVER’s work and how EU regulations influence biodiversity abroad? Watch the video interview below:

Recommended reading:

For more CLEVER interviews, check out our blog post: The hidden impact of EU soy imports on deforestation and biodiversity loss.