PrintRequired Reading:
This week used to inclide a signficiant amount of accademic reading, but as we near the end of the course it is important that you learn where to find up-to-date information about the planetary boundriaes and understand how United Nations bodies and NGOs are working to tackel Biodiversity Loss and other earth systems changes.
Where to look for up-to-date information:
- Various UN organizations deal with Biodiversty Loss and produce reports or policy targets to assess and address Biodiversity Loss. These include the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity(link is external)), the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(link is external)) and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme(link is external)).
- The IPBES(link is external) (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) is an independent intergovernmental body established by a collection of countries (through UN processes) "to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development". (You may have heard of the IPCC (link is external)(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) which is a simialr body, but tasked with dealing with climate change). The IPBES 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services(link is external) provides an excellent and detailed look at Biodiversity Loss, drivers of biodiversity loss and impacts on ecosystem services. You are encoruaged to check out the forthcoming Thematic assessment of the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and the determinants of transformative change and options for achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity(link is external). There is a draft (link is external)available for the public, have a look and see how many of the themes we have covered in this course you see in it?
- Many global NGOs are also making really important contributions to assessing Biodiversoty Loss and changing narratives to focus on the underlying causes of biodiversity loss rather than the proximate ones. The WWF's (World Wide Fund for Nature(link is external)) Living Planet Report provides a regularily updated record of global Biodiversity Loss. Please check out the website(link is external) before moving on the reading the report as one of your readings
WWF (2024) Living Planet Report 2024 – A System in Peril. WWF, Gland, Switzerland.
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Garnett, S. T., Burgess, N. D., Fa, J. E., Fernández-Llamazares, Á., Molnár, Z., Robinson, C. J., ... & Collier, N. F. (2018). A spatial overview of the global importance of Indigenous lands for conservation. Nature Sustainability, 1(7), 369.
This article examines the roles indigenous people play in managing global biodiversity through supervising their own lands. The article draws on previous literature to determine the spatial extent of indigenous lands and what portion of these lands are in protected areas. The article explains how much of the word’s remaining natural lands are in the domain of indigenous people. The authors argue for a bottom up an approach for safeguarding biodiversity, which would allow indigenous people agency in determining their own land management. The article also cautions against forcing indigenous people into conservation practices that run counter to their cultural heritage.
NOTE: Links to the readings are located in the module in Canvas.