Tim Hirsch played a central role in the publication of three documents critical to raising global awareness about the loss of biodiversity, the degradation of ecosystems and the implications for human well-being. The texts he helped to draft are explicitly cited as justification for the historic agreements reached by more than 190 governments at the Nagoya biodiversity summit of October 2010.

In 2004-5, Tim was approached by the board of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment to draft the Board Statement which was to accompany the technical volumes and General Synthesis of this major international study involving  more than 1,300 scientists and other experts. In collaboration with the board, comprising leading representatives from academia, NGOs, business and inter-governmental organisations, he produced the document entitled Living Beyond Our Means: Natural Assets and Human Well-being. The acknowledgment on the back cover of this document reads: "The Board of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment extends its deepest gratitude to Tim Hirsch who so aptly and eloquently described and summarized the main findings of the assessment on our behalf."

From May 2009 to May 2010, Tim worked in collaboration with the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to write the executive summary, main text, captions and boxes of the Third Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO3). This involved a major review process including nearly 200 governments, a wide range of scientists, NGOs, official bodies and an Advisory Board. The Outlook, which officially concluded that the 2010 target for reducing the rate of biodiversity loss had been missed, was the principal document informing the meeting of the Conference of Parties to the CBD in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010. The resulting agreement on a new Strategic Plan and biodiversity targets for 2020 included a preamble with many phrases originated by Tim in his drafting of GBO3. Tim is acknowledged as lead writer of the Outlook.

Following recommendation from within the review team of GBO3,  Tim worked with the scientific co-ordinators of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study to produce its final synthesis report, released at the Nagoya biodiversity summit. This involved the preparation of three drafts for comment by the various study teams, and the drafting of the ten leading conclusions and recommendations of the whole TEEB study. The resulting document, Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature, was also among the most widely cited publications at the Nagoya summit. The acknowledgments of the synthesis include the following: "We would like to thank Tim Hirsch for his support in distilling the work of TEEB in this synthesis report."

Various commissions including the drafting of a brochure on the UNEP Climate Neutral Network, and press material for a Compendium on Climate Change Science, both released in advance of the 2009 conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen.

Worked with a study team based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago,  to draft and complete the Caribbean Sea Ecosystem Assessment (CARSEA), a sub-global assessment within the framework of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. This included the writing of an executive summary and extensive editing and restructuring of technical texts to enhance the readability of the report.

Numerous commissions to edit documents and books on a range of subjects including agriculture and security, access to and benefit sharing (ABS) of genetic resources, renewable energy and North-South technology transfer.

Numerous commissions to write Plain English Summaries for research awards, on subjects as diverse as the socio-political impact of natural disasters, the regulation of stem-cell science, and the power relations within marriage in Uganda.

Prepared and ran masterclass for NIgerian journalists at the British Council, Lagos, on the UN climate change process, to inform coverage of the Copenhagen climate summit. See blog on the TF website.

Prepared and ran masterclass on covering the environment for journalists from Africa and Latin America attending the World Forestry Congress in Buenos Aires, September 2009.

Ran a two week course in Khartoum for Sudanese journalists on coverage of the environment.