Debate on biodiversity loss

The biosphere, upon which human life on the planet depends, is being altered to an unparalleled degree across the world according to Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 published in 2020. The report concluded that “nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating” with one million species under threat.

The five identified drivers for this biodiversity loss  by the UN panel of scientific advisors are in order of importance: changes in land and sea use, climate change, pollution, direct exploitation of natural resources and the impact of invasive species. 

This global biodiversity loss is also reflected in the state of nature in the UK.  The UK has been highlighted as having some of the lowest biodiversity in Europe and the Western world. Researchers have concluded “while countries such as Canada and Finland have 89.3 and 88.6% of their biodiversity left intact, the UK only has 50.3% remaining.”

This pack contains information about UK international obligations and targets, biodiversity measures and targets including the State of Nature report, and farming, as well as recent Parliamentary material, news items and further reading.