BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity takes center stage with innovative solutions aimed at protecting and restoring ecosystems.
How to address the challenges of BIODIVERSITY ?
PRESERVING TERRESTRIAL BIODIVERSITY
Overall, human land use exacerbates terrestrial biodiversity loss, mainly through urbanization, deforestation, and chemical pesticide usage.
Adopting regenerative agriculture practices is crucial for preserving biodiversity and ensuring food security.
Current agricultural production is responsible for 80% of global deforestation, 70% of freshwater use, and 70% of the decline in terrestrial biodiversity.
Biodiversity as a value creator.
By 2030, restoring 350 million hectares of degraded terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems could generate ecosystem services worth an estimated $9,000 billion.
Did you know?
According to UNESCO, every year more than a million seabirds and 100,000 mammals die because of plastic waste
Key fact
According to the RAC*: If global warming exceeds +2°C by the end of the century (the current trajectory takes us to around +2.8°C), 18% of all terrestrial species will be at serious risk of extinction.
*Réseau Action Climat
SAFEGUARDING MARINE BIODIVERSITY
The oceans serve as the lungs of humanity, generating 50- 70% of the oxygen we breathe, yet they face threats.
Currently, 90% of the world’s fish stocks are fully or overexploited.
Solutions include promoting marine protected areas, restoring marine habitats, combating plastic pollution, and improving fishing practices (such as addressing illegal fishing, prohibiting bottom trawling, and implementing international quotas).
Restoring Ecosystems
In Europe, 81% of protected habitats and 63% of species are in poor or average conservation states, as per WWF.
International organizations advocate for Nature-based Solutions to protect, manage, and restore ecosystems sustainably, emphasizing inclusive governance and consultation with indigenous peoples.
Governments, particularly at the European level, are urged to combat biodiversity loss. While the «Nature Restoration Law» is a starting point, it requires strengthening.
FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change, after human land use for food production and construction, is a key driver, causing irreversible harm to ecosystems.
Habitat loss, ecosystem shifts, and extreme weather events disrupt the delicate balance of flora and fauna.
To combat climate change and biodiversity loss simultaneously, restoring ecosystems abundant in biodiversity serves as crucial «carbon sinks» absorbing half of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions and providing nature-based solutions for addressing climate change and preserving biodiversity.
