Can we turn the tide of biodiversity loss by 2050?

Without bold conservation and restoration efforts, researchers say, turning the tide of biodiversity loss by 2050 or earlier won’t be possible.

For the first time, researchers looked at what must happen to reverse global biodiversity trends. “We wanted to assess in a robust manner whether it might be feasible to bend the curve of declining terrestrial biodiversity due to current and future land use, while avoiding jeopardizing our chances to achieve other sustainable development goals,” said lead author of the recent Nature David Leclère in a press release. “If this were indeed possible, we also wanted to explore how to get there and more specifically, what type of actions would be required and how combining various types of actions might reduce trade-offs among objectives and instead exploit synergies.”

The researchers determined that conservation and restoration efforts need to ramp up and the food system needs to be transformed, including diets with lower environmental impacts. The team also points to addressing climate change to help stop biodiversity loss.

This illustration shows how increased conservation efforts will bend the
biodiversity loss curve Image Credit: IIASA

Read more in Nature.