Two thirds of the services provided by nature to humankind are in decline

The target agreed to by the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2002, “to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss”, has not been met. The third edition of Global Biodiversity Outlook finds that although there has been significant progress in slowing the rate of loss for tropical forests and mangroves in some regions, most habitats are in decline and the rate of species extinction appears to be accelerating. The genetic diversity of cultivated species is in decline, potentially leading to crops that are more vulnerable.

The loss of services derived from ecosystems is a significant barrier to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty, hunger and disease. Nearly two thirds of the services provided by nature to humankind are found to be in decline worldwide. In effect, the benefits reaped from our engineering of the planet have been achieved by running down natural capital assets. On a more positive note, more protected areas (both on land and in coastal waters) have been established, the conservation of particular species has led to reduced losses, and initiatives to tackle some of the direct causes of ecosystem damage have helped maintain essential ecosystem services.