Biodiversity

Automeris sp. caterpillar on a twig Caterpillar of the Automeris sp. moth

Life on Earth originated around 4 billion years ago. While it initially existed only in the oceans, it later spread to the land and atmosphere. Since then, an unfathomable number of species have evolved, around half of which are insects. Numerous plant and animal species have yet to be documented, and many new ones are being discovered every day.

While we are only just beginning to understand the web of interdependencies between organisms, humans are jeopardizing our planet’s highly complex ecosystems and their inhabitants by clearing forests, overfishing the oceans and overfertilizing agricultural land. Air pollution and increasing levels of acidity in the oceans are having profound consequences.

The pace of extinction has accelerated to the point that species are vanishing before we even have a chance to discover them. Find out more here.

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Guardians of the forest © Nathalie Weemaels

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A better way to protect biodiversity: strengthening indigenous rights!

One million animal and plant species could become extinct if we don’t act to protect biodiversity. In December 2022, the UN Conference on Biological Diversity will therefore rule that 30 percent of the planet’s surface should be protected worldwide by 2030 – a problematic plan.

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To: the CBD Secretariat, CBD Member States and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

“Putting more land under protection is not the answer to the extinction crisis. We need effective solutions like strengthening the rights of indigenous people.”

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