Science Explorer. Multimedia Gallery. Park Passes. Technical Announcements. Employees in the News. Emergency Management. Survey Manual. Biodiversity underpins global nutrition and food security. Millions of species work together to provide us with a large array of fruits, vegetables and animal products essential to a healthy, balanced diet — but they are increasingly under threat.
Every country has indigenous produce — such as wild greens and grains — which have adapted to local conditions, making them more resilient to pests and extreme weather. In the past, this produce provided much-needed micronutrients for local populations. Unfortunately, however, the simplification of diets, processed foods and poor access to food have led to poor-quality diets.
As a result, one-third of the world suffers from micronutrient deficiencies. This leads to reduced resiliency in our supply chains and on our plates. People once understood that the conservation of species was crucial for healthy societies and ecosystems. We must ensure this knowledge remains part of our modern agricultural and food systems to prevent diet-related diseases and reduce the environmental impact of feeding ourselves.
First, plants are essential for medicines. This means that every time a species goes extinct, we miss out on a potential new medicine. Second, biodiversity due to protected natural areas has been linked to lower instances of disease such as Lyme disease and malaria.
As human activities encroach upon the natural world, through deforestation and urbanisation, we reduce the size and number of ecosystems. As a result, animals live in closer quarters with one another and with humans, creating ideal conditions for the spread of zoonotic diseases. Simply put: more species means less disease.
Many businesses are, therefore, at risk due to increasing nature loss. There is great potential for the economy to grow and become more resilient by ensuring biodiversity. Nature is in crisis, but there is hope. Investing in nature can not only increase our resilience to socioeconomic and environmental shocks, but it can help societies thrive.
There is strong recognition within the Forum that the future must be net-zero and nature-positive. The Nature Action Agenda initiative, within the Platform for Accelerating Nature-based Solutions, is an inclusive, multistakeholder movement catalysing economic action to halt biodiversity loss by Dynamic and flourishing natural ecosystems are the foundation for human wellbeing and prosperity.
To support these transitions, the Platform for Accelerating Nature-based Solutions has convened a community of Champions for Nature promoting the sustainable management of the planet for the good of the economy and society.
The Nature Action Agenda also recently launched the Million Farmers initiative, which will drive the transition of the food and agriculture system towards a regenerative model, as well as the BiodiverCities by initiative to create an urban development model that is in harmony with nature. Get in touch if you would like to collaborate on these efforts or join one of our communities.
In the Global South, forests are the source of livelihoods for over 1. Ecosystems, therefore, must be protected and restored — not only for the good of nature but also for the communities that depend on them. Nature-positive businesses can provide cost-effective, robot-proof, business-friendly jobs that stimulate the rural economy without harming the environment. Beyond its intrinsic value, biodiversity is necessary to human survival.
Ecosystem diversity is crucial to ecosystem integrity, which in turn enables our life support, giving us a livable climate, breathable air, and drinkable water. Food-crop diversity and pollinating insects and bats allow agriculture to support our populations; when disease strikes a food crop, only diversity can save the system from collapse. Plant and animal diversity provide building blocks for medicine, both current and potential; almost half of the pharmaceuticals used in the United States today are manufactured using natural compounds, many of which cannot be synthesized.
They also provide critical industrial products used to build our homes and businesses, from wood and rubber to the fuels that underpin our economies — even coal and oil are the products of ancient plant matter and preserved zooplankton remains. Biodiversity plays a central mythic and symbolic role in our language, religion, literature, art, and music, making it a key component of human culture with benefits to society that have not been quantified but are clearly vast.
From our earliest prehistory, people have never lived in a world with low biodiversity. We've always been dependent on a varied and rich natural environment for both our physical survival and our psychological and spiritual health. As extinctions multiply, and cannot be undone, we tread further and further into unexplored terrain — a journey from which there is no return. Get the latest on our work for biodiversity and learn how to help in our free weekly e-newsletter.
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