Book excerpt: Natural resource depletion and adverse impacts from environmental degradation, including loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services and their associated knowledge, add to and exacerbate the list of challenges which humanity faces. In order to address these challenges, policy makers need credible and independent information that take into account the complex relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem services and people. To meet these needs the "Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services" (IPBES) was established in 2012. Its purpose is to assess the state of the planet's biodiversity, its ecosystems and essential services they provide for human well-being. This report is the result of an introductory and scoping study, laying the foundation for a Nordic Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services based on IPBES methods and procedures.