Overview

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Learn more about biodiversity loss with a high level overview.

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What?

What is biodiversity loss?
The rapid, accelerating loss of variability and abundance of life on Earth across the hierarchies of genes, species, and ecosystems including: plant and animal species; wild and domesticated varieties; and natural habitats and biomes. Such loss has been caused by human activities with direct drivers of land/sea use change, overexploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution, and invasive alien species. See IPBES 2019 Global Assessment.

Who?

Who are affected by biodiversity loss?
Due to reliance on biodiversity for food supply, air quality, water supply, climate regulation, and other ecosystem services, all flora and fauna including humans are affected by this crisis. See IPBES-IPCC co-sponsored 2021 report.

Where?

Where does biodiversity loss occur?
While disappearing species and damaged ecosystems vary by regions and biomes, consistent evidence indicates a global scale to biodiversity loss. See World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet biennual reports.

When?

When did biodiversity loss start?
Since the Industrial Revolution and notably mid-20th century with the rapid rise of human population, global trade, industrial farming and fishing, and expansive urbanization, biodiversity loss has occurred at unprecedented levels in human history with signs of acceleration. See all biodiversity global assessments from 1995, 2005, and 2019.

Why?

Why is biodiversity loss important?
For life-critical services, environmental, economic, developmental, ethical, security, and social issues, biodiversity loss plays an instrumental role from food webs to GDP accounting. See the Dasgupta Review in 2021 on The Economics of Biodiversity.

How?

How can we stop biodiversity loss?
Raise awareness. Start discussions. Adjust lifestyle and diet. Avoid waste and excessive consumption. Boycott goods, services, and industries that destroy nature. Advocate for the end to forest logging, wetland draining, and other actions. Implore public and business leaders. Exercise consumer and voting power. Insist on sustainable spatial planning with nature. See recommendations in most reports and papers.

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When were key global moments regarding biodiversity loss?

1970s

• United Nations Conference on the Human Environment convened in Stockholm, Sweden leads to formation of UN Environment Programme (UNEP) that would oversee among other global environment issues: climate change and biodiversity. See UNEP history.
• UNEP environment reports recognize species diversity and ecosystems. See Reports.
• States adopt the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international conservation effort to protect the planet’s most endangered species. See UNEP history.

1980s

• Scientific papers and books begin to formally use the term, biological diversity, and its contraction, biodiversity.
• UN publishes the landmark World Commission on Sustainable Developments Bruntland Report, Our Common Future, to guide sustainable development in the face of environmental challenges. See Reports.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) launches to formalize the intergovernmental science-policy interface.

1990s

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) opens for signature at the Rio Earth Summit along with UNFCCC and enters into full force a year later as an intergovernmental agreement. See CBD history.
• WCMC publishes the most comprehensive review of global biodiversity ever compiled, Global Biodiversity: Status of the Earth’s living resources. See Reports.
• UNEP publishes the first global biodiversity assessment, the work of over 1,500 scientists and experts from all parts of the world, to provide a snapshot of the current state of the biodiversity sciences and of the subject as perceived by the world’s scientific community. See press release.

2000s

• UN commits to achieve the Millennium Development Goals which specifically includes biodiversity loss under target 7 for environmental sustainability. See UNEP history.
• The landmark Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) publishes its findings on the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being which involved the work of more than 1,300 experts worldwide from 2001-2005. See press release.
• Research team lead by Johan Rockström and Will Steffen publish the Planetary Boundaries Framework that recognizes biodiversity as one of the transgressed boundaries. See Stockholm Resilience Center research.

2010s

• Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at its tenth meeting (COP10) in Aichi, Japan agree to the Aichi 20 biodiversity targets to be achieved by 2020. See targets.
• Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) launches as an independent, intergovernmental body to serve as a science-policy interface. See IPBES history.
• IPBES publishes its landmark, comprehensive Global Assessment to assess the status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services over past five decades, its impact on human wellbeing, and the effectiveness of responses. See media release.

2020s

• IPBES and IPCC launches their first-ever collaboration with a workshop report of selected authors, stressing the interlinked nature of climate change and biodiversity loss. See Reports.
• UN launches the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the global movement to assist in the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed, as well as conserving intact ecosystems. See website.
• Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at COP15 adopt global targets by 2030 in landmark biodiversity agreement. See press release.

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What are proposed solutions?

Restoration

• Rewild with herbivores and carnivores to systems where they have been lost. See IPBES-IPCC joint report.
• Manage and restore natural and modified ecosystems. See IPBES-IPCC joint report.
• Rebuild terrestrial and marine carbon stocks. See IPBES-IPCC joint report.
• Rebuild overexploited or depleted fish stocks. See IPBES-IPCC joint report.
• Intervene at the watershed or river basin scale. See UNEP blueprint report.
• … See most reports.

Sustainability

• Agroecological practices such as increasing crop and livestock diversity including by using varietal mixes, more complex crop rotations, intercropping, wild relatives for crop and livestock selection, on-farm crop selection, and integrated farming. See IPBES-IPCC joint report.
• Agroforestry including mixing trees with crops. See IPBES-IPCC joint report.
• Sustainable fisheries to avoid overfishing. See IPBES-IPCC joint report.
• Sustainable agriculture to reduce pesticide use and nitrogen and phosphorus imbalances. See UNEP blueprint report.
• Sustainable urban planning; encouraging densification for compact communities, especially in sprawling cities. See UNEP blueprint report.
• … See most reports.

Finance

• Eliminate subsidies harmful to biodiversity. See IPBES Global Assessment.
• Include nature capital in national accounts. See Dasgupta Review, IPBES values, and OECD reports.
• Promote private sector financing for biodiversity. See Dasgupta Review.
• Utilize Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES). See Dasgupta Review.
• Integrate the protection of biodiversity with the fiduciary duties of institutional investors and asset managers. See Dasgupta Review.
• … See most reports.

Dasgupta Review - Figure 3

Industry

• Decarbonize the energy system. See IPCC reports.
• Localize the food supply chain. See IPBES-IPCC joint report.
• Promote resource efficiency, circular, and other ecological economic models. See IPBES Global Assessment.
• Innovate new business models to reduce global and local chemical pollution. See UNEP blueprint report.
• Mainstream biodiversity in global financial system. See Dasgupta Review.
• … See most reports.

UNEP Making Peace with Nature - Fig 6.3

Planning

• Build multifunctional land- and seascapes. See IPBES-IPCC joint report.
• Establish well-connected protected areas. See IPBES-IPCC joint report.
• Manage invasive species encroachment. See IPBES-IPCC joint report.
• Plan for transboundary conservation. See IPBES Global Assessment.
• Mainstream biodiversity in landscape planning. See IPBES-IPCC joint report.
• … See most reports.

IPBES-IPCC Report - Figure 2.2

Governance

• Adopt integrative, inclusive, informed, and adaptive governance. See IPBES Global Assessment.
• Implement polycentric and layered institutions. See Dasgupta Review.
• Advance science-policy processes to generate actions needed to address more complex problems such as climate change and biodiversity loss. See UNEP blueprint report.
• Empower citizens with informed consumer decision-making. See Dasgupta Review.
• Mainstream biodiversity in policymaking. See IPBES Global Assessment.
• … See most reports.

Dasgupta Review - Figure 21

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Why And Biodiversity? To analyze solutions:

	Agro- forestry		Wildlife Corridor		Aqua- culture		Coastal Restoration		De- carbonization
	Pest Control		Local Management		Wetland Restoration		Trophic Rewilding		Agro- ecology

| And Biodiversity

The morning sea of silence broke into ripples
of bird songs; and the flowers were all merry
by the roadside; and the wealth of gold was
scattered through the rift of the clouds while
we busily went on our way and paid no heed.

We sang no glad songs nor played; we went not
to the village for barter; we spoke not a word
nor smiled; we lingered not on the way. We
quickened our pace more and more as the time sped by…

-“48”
Rabindranath Tagore
Gitanjali

| And Biodiversity

“O Dreary life!” we cry, “O dreary life!”
And still the generations of the birds
Sing through our sighing, and the flocks and herds
Serenely live while we are keeping strife
With Heaven’s true purpose in us, as a knife

Against which we may struggle. Ocean girds
Unslackened the dry land: savannah-swards
Unweary sweep: hills watch, unworn; and rife
Meek leaves drop yearly from the forest-trees…

-“Patience Taught by Nature”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

| And Biodiversity

…I am no longer deaf who hear
The litany of Spring;
The choir celestial of thrush and throstle,
Of feathered breast and wing;

The matin hymns of airy folk;
The ave of the lark;
The vesper trill of the whipporwill
To usher in the dark…

-“The Touch”
Countee Cullen

| And Biodiversity

…ever look south
on a clear day and not see
time’s squares but see
tall Birch trees with sycamores touching hands

and see gazelles running playfully
after the lions
ever hear the antelope bark
from the third floor apartment…

-“Walking Down Park”
Nikki Giovanni

| And Biodiversity

The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead –

That is the Grasshopper’s. He takes the lead
In summer luxury; he has never done
With his delights, for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.

-“On the Grasshopper and Cricket”
John Keats