Biodiversity

Biodiversity is declining rapidly worldwide. According to the IPBES report 2019:

• 23% of global land area is degraded

• More than 85% of the total area of all wetlands has disappeared since 1970

• In the tropics, 32 million hectares of forest were lost between 2010 and 2015 alone

Global species extinction is higher than ever before in human history. The global food system is primarily responsible for this. Our food production is currently based to a large extent on the use of fertilizers, pesticides, energy, land, and water, as well as unsustainable practices such as monocultures and intensive tillage. These practices reduce the diversity of landscapes and habitats.

Without changes to our food system, biodiversity will continue to decline rapidly. We need to change our eating habits to a diet consisting mainly of plant-based products, as factory farming has a disproportionately large impact on biodiversity, land use, and the environment. Food waste must also be significantly reduced in order to increase resource efficiency.

Green spaces must be protected and agriculture must become more environmentally friendly by promoting biodiversity, limiting the use of chemicals, and replacing monocultures with polycultures. Such a change would also benefit the health of the population.

Source: IPBES, 2019: Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. E. S. Brondizio, J. Settele, S. Díaz, and H. T. Ngo (editors).