SDGs #14 and #15 - Biodiversity - The Essential Spice of Life
SDGs #14 and #15 - Biodiversity - The Essential Spice of Life
The June Sustainable Development Goal is a combination of Climate Action, Life Below Water and Life on Land. In the first of our monthly SDG blogs we take a look at why biodiversity makes up such a critical part of the UN’s SDGs…
Why is biodiversity in decline?
Ever since we discovered how to rub sticks together to make fire, we have significantly altered the natural world. The variety and complexity of life across the world is extraordinary and yet humans continue to destroy it at an unprecedented rate.
As we emerged from Africa around 70,000 years ago, flora and fauna have correspondingly disappeared from the fossil records. Coincidence? I think not. The most notable disappearance is the megafauna - giant wombats and kangaroos roamed Australia, short faced bears standing at three metres tall foraged in North America and giant deer galloped across Europe. All have fallen victim in some way to the impact of mankind. The natural world is in a fine balance; species take millions of years to evolve and the slightest change can have a devastating effect. We are causing that change through habitat destruction, intensification of agriculture, pollution, hunting, and climate change.
How bad is the decline?
Research published in the journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, suggests that a mere 3% of the world’s ecosystems remain ecologically intact with healthy populations of their indigenous animals and plants. Our impact on the natural world has been so great that we are now the dominant influence on the climate and the environment, creating a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. The landscapes that we have become most familiar with are the concrete ones and even the places we think are wild are devoid of biodiversity. Destinations like the Lake District or your local park, are not the environments they naturally should be.
There are an estimated existing 6,495 species of mammals, 6000 species of amphibians and an incredible 900,000 species of insects with many more yet to be identified, all occupying slightly different niches within the environment. Some of which may become extinct before they are formally identified and classified. The extinction rate of species is now thought to be 1,000 times higher than the natural rate of extinction. We may be the last generation that could put a stop to what is now widely being considered as the sixth mass extinction on Planet Earth.
Why should we care?
The plight of species fighting for their very survival is often overlooked, out of sight out of mind. The truth is that it is too easy to shrug the shoulders and say ‘oh dear’. Why should we care if an estimated 40% of the world’s insect species become extinct in the next few decades? Why should we care if Mountain Gorillas, our fellow primates, become extinct? Why should we care that the Western Black Rhino is actually extinct?
Because there is an intrinsic value to biodiversity, that is unrivalled in complexity, spiritual significance, and beauty. There are also many more pragmatic reasons why we should care about its loss. It is essential for life on earth; the environment, the climate, the water cycle, nutrient flow and air quality are all intertwined with biodiversity. When species start to disappear, ecosystems start to collapse, ecosystems that are essential for our existence.
What has been done to stop the decline?
In 1992 the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity was established to protect and conserve biodiversity. Unfortunately, it has not come close to halting the rapid decline. In 2010, governments around the world agreed to a set of 20 targets for 2020 to protect biodiversity – the Aichi targets. Not a single target has been met, with only seven being partially met.
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals - SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG 14 Life Below Water and SDG 15 Life on Land are linked directly to stopping biodiversity loss. If these goals and associated targets are met, they would go some way in reversing the loss to biodiversity.
What can be done?
The UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity published the fifth global biodiversity outlook in September, 2020. It focuses on eight transition areas essential to finally put a stop to the decline;
Land and forests transition
Sustainable agriculture transition
Sustainable food systems transition
Sustainable fisheries and oceans transition
Cities and infrastructure transition
Sustainable freshwater transition
Climate action transition
Biodiversity health-inclusive transition
2021 – 2030 has been labelled the decade on Ecosystems Restoration. The UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, China, scheduled for October this year, provides the global community with further opportunities to stimulate efforts and assess the global political will to implement the transformative changes needed.
In May 2021, G7 Environment and Climate ministers committed to protect at least 30% of their land and oceans by 2030.
Long term targets as we know are easy to set but hard to achieve. The governments that set them are rarely in power by the end date and usually absolve themselves of any responsibility. We are at the stage where action and short-term targets are necessary, governments can no longer be absolved of responsibility.
On an individual basis, in the UK we can support campaigns like no mow May and rewilding Britain that have a fantastic impact on our local biodiversity. We can also vote for politicians that support this work and pressure politicians in power to put these issues at the top of their agenda. We can buy products and services from companies that have high ESG credentials. The public are more aware than ever on the issues surrounding biodiversity loss and climate change. WWF data revealed that Google searches related to sustainable goods has increased by 71% globally since 2016.
The business case for protecting biodiversity is crystal clear, the World Economic Forum on their New Nature Economy Reports (WBCSD Business Summaries) suggests around USD $44 trillion is at risk from nature loss. The Dasgupta Review – an analysis on the economics of biodiversity, has at last outlined a blueprint on how economics and ecology can be mutually beneficial.
“To restore stability to our planet, therefore, we must restore its biodiversity, the very thing we have removed. It is the only way out of this crisis that we ourselves have created.” – David Attenborough