Biodiversity

Environment

The current rate of extinction is tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the past 10 million years.1 The earth is currently undergoing its sixth mass extinction as a result of human activity.2 While our food systems and current consumption patterns are among the primary drivers of biodiversity loss, they can also be also important levers to reduce pressures on species and habitats.

Sources

[1] United Nationas (2022): Species Extinction Rate Hundreds of Times Higher Than in Past 10 Million Years, Warns Secretary-General Observance Message, Urging Action to End Biodiversity Loss by 2030. Available at: https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21291.doc.htm [Accessed: 14.10.2024]
[2] Ceballos, G., P. R. Ehrlich, A. D. Barnosky, et al. (2015): Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction. Science Advances 1(5), e1400253. Doi:10.1126/sciadv.1400253.
[3] Poore, J. & T. Nemecek (2018): Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science 360(6392), 987–992. Doi:10.1126/science.aaq0216.
[4] Ritchie, H. & M. Roser (2024): Half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/global-land-for-agriculture [Accessed: 04.10.2024]
[5] Based on an assessment of threatened species on:  IUCN (2025): Red list. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org/search [Accessed: 22.05.2025]
[6] Williams, D. R., M. Clark, G. M. Buchanan, et al. (2020): Proactive conservation to prevent habitat losses to agricultural expansion. Nature Sustainability Doi:10.1038/s41893-020-00656-5.
[7] Greenspoon, L., E. Krieger, R. Sender, et al. (2023): The global biomass of wild mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120(10), e2204892120. doi:10.1073/pnas.2204892120.
[8] Brunet, J. & F. P. Fragoso (2024): What are the main reasons for the worldwide decline in pollinator populations? CABI Reviews cabireviews.2024.0016. Doi:10.1079/cabireviews.2024.0016.
[9] IPBES (2016): The assessment report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production. Summary for Policymakers. Available at: https://files.ipbes.net/ipbes-web-prod-public-files/spm_deliverable_3a_pollination_20170222.pdf [Accessed: 20.09.2024]
[10] Lippert, C., A. Feuerbacher & M. Narjes (2021): Revisiting the economic valuation of agricultural losses due to large-scale changes in pollinator populations. Ecological Economics 180 106860. Doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106860.
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[12] Hallmann, C. A., M. Sorg, E. Jongejans, et al. (2017): More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas. PLOS ONE 12(10), e0185809. Doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185809.
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[14] Lundgren, J. G. & S. W. Fausti (2015): Trading biodiversity for pest problems. Science Advances 1(6), e1500558. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1500558
[15] IUCN (n.d.): The legacy of the land – Storymap. Biodiversity in the Mediterranean agricultural landscapes. Available at: https://iucn.org/legacy-land [Accessed: 04.10.2024]
[16] FAO (2019): The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture, J. Bélanger & D. Pilling (eds.). FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Assessments. Rome. 572 pp.
[17] CNN (2023): How 650 new bean varieties could help feed people across Africa. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/world/africa/pabra-new-
beans-africa-spc/index.html
[Accessed: 04.10.2024].
[18] Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) (2022) PABRA and the power of beans in Africa: 25 years of transformation. Nairobi (Kenya): International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).
[19] Mburu, S. W., G. Koskey, J. M. Kimiti, et al. (2016): Agrobiodiversity conservation enhances food security in subsistence-based farming systems of Eastern Kenya. Agriculture & Food Security 5(1), 19. Doi:10.1186/s40066-016-0068-2.
[20] United Nations Environment Program (2023): Frontiers 2023. What’s Cooking? An assessment of the potential impacts of selected novel alternatives to conventional animal products. Nairobi. https://doi.org/10.59117/20.500.11822/44236.


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