BIODIVERSITY
Celebrating International day for biodiversity
Photo: A-M. Iseklint/azotelibrary.com
May 22 is the International Day for Biodiversity and we celebrate it by highlighting our research on the topic
• International Day for Biodiversity 2022 is being celebrated under the slogan “Building a shared future for all life"
• The centre’s biodiversity research and policy work are always relevant and over the years the topic remains a key focus of our research
• A number of recent links to web articles about our research on biodiversity are provided
Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth from genes and species to ecosystems, is an important part of the answer to many of our sustainable development challenges.
From nature-based solutions to climate, health issues, food and water security, and sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity is the foundation upon which we can “build back better” after the pandemic.
This is the main message of the 2022 International Day for Biodiversity, which this year is being celebrated under the slogan: “Building a shared future for all life”.
The slogan was chosen to continue building momentum and support for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework to be adopted at the upcoming UN Biodiversity Conference #COP15.
The problem is, as expressed by centre founder and chairman Carl Folke, that: “In a single human lifetime, largely since the 1950s, we have grossly simplified the biosphere, a system that has evolved over 3.8 billion years. Now just a few plants and animals dominate the land and oceans.”
This implies that our actions are making the biosphere more fragile, less resilient, and more prone to climate change and other perturbations than before. Turning this situation around is at the core of the centre’s research on resilience and sustainability.
Bending the curve of biodiversity loss is actually key to every single Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and associated targets.
No wonder, then, that biodiversity plays a key role in more or less all centre research: from studies on ownership of marine genetic resources all the way to quantifying the health of the whole Baltic Sea, not to mention being one of the most important and most transgressed of the planetary boundaries, or research on how farming, forestry and fisheries have converted the natural world into a simplified global production system.
Research highlights on biodiversity
- New funding for a SEK 50 million consortium helping finance sector curb biodiversity loss and protect nature
- Integrating a human rights-based approach in the 2021-2022 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
- Reaching the Paris climate goal will be unattainable without rich biodiversity and resilient ecosystems
- “Dasgupta review”: new financial measurements (beyond GDP) are needed to avoid catastrophic consequences
- Protected areas must not only expand but also become more inclusive and equitable to ensure that biodiversity is conserved
- Helping city planners integrating nature and biodiversity within urban areas
- Mixed-species and continuous cover forestry tend to be more resilient and prosperous in the face of climate change and extreme weather events
Podcast: In the SDGs, where have biodiversity and ecosystem services gone?
In this episode of Rethink Talks centre researcher Albert Norström talks to Liz Selig, who is the Deputy Director at the Center for Ocean Solutions at Stanford University, and Belinda Reyers from the Stockholm Resilience Centre here at Stockholm University. She is also the Research Chair in Sustainability Science at Future Africa Campus at University of Pretoria in South Africa.
They warn that unless action is taken, progress toward the goals is jeopardised.
