IPBES Report | Biodiversity loss is a social and ecological emergency

The biodiversity crisis is rapidly becoming as big an issue as climate change. And without biodiversity, there is no future for humanity.

We are at risk of losing species before they have even been discovered. We are, it’s estimated, losing around 135 plant, animal and insect species every day. That’s 50,000 species a year, due to deforestation.

Scientists and government officials meet this week in Paris to finalise a key assessment of humanity’s relationship with nature. The Intergovernmental Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will then issue its first global assessment since 2005.

Dubbed the ‘IPCC for biodiversity’, the IPBES report is another call to arms on behalf of Earth’s fauna and flora.

We need to take effective and urgent action to halt the continued loss of wildlife to have resilient ecosystems that continue to provide natural ecosystem services. Securing Earth’s variety of life is vital not only for human well-being and poverty reduction but also for healthy, functioning ecosystems around the world.