Interconnections at a glance (biodiversity)

Biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation risks for sustainable development

• Biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation negatively impact lives and livelihoods in general, and disproportionately affect vulnerable societies. This non-exhaustive list of risks for sustainable development shows how reliant we are on biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• Over 50% of the world’s GDP is highly or moderately dependent on nature.¹
• Over 90% of the people living in extreme poverty depend on forests for some part of their livelihoods.²
• While over 75% of global food crop types rely on insects and animal pollination, the degradation of this ecosystem service puts at risk up to USD 577 billion in annual crop output.³
• An estimated 4 billion people rely primarily on natural medicines, and 70% of the drugs used for cancer are natural or synthetic products inspired by nature.⁴
• 26% of employed women work in agriculture and many more informally rely on ecosystem services as part of their household responsibilities – such as collecting water and fodder for animals.
• If tipping points are crossed, i.e. when ecosystems degrade beyond a critical threshold, abrupt and often irreversible changes to the climate and the environment are triggered. The dieback of the Amazon rainforest, for example, could cause the release of vast amounts of CO₂, impacting global temperature rise by up to 0.2°C.⁵

Development cooperation and humanitarian aid risks for biodiversity and ecosystems

If not done cautiously, development cooperation and humanitarian aid can have a negative impact on the drivers of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. A non-exhaustive list of impacts follows.

• Agriculture and our global food system are the primary drivers of biodiversity loss, notably due to land use change (e.g. deforestation for agricultural production), pollution (e.g. use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides) and unsustainable and over-exploitation of ecosystems (e.g. intensive monoculture).
• The diversity of species in cropland areas is about 40% lower than in primary vegetation.⁶
• About 60 billion tonnes of resources, or about 50% more than 30 years ago,⁷ are extracted from nature every year. While economic development initiatives improve the livelihoods of those affected in the short term, strengthening resource-based sectors also contributes to climate change, land use change, pollution and overexploitation in the mid to long terms, if done unsustainably.⁸

Energy production still relies heavily on fossil fuels and therefore contributes to climate change and biodiversity loss through greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable energy can also damage species and ecosystems when poorly located. Infrastructure development – for housing, transportation, energy or mining – can destroy natural habitats, disrupt migration routes, isolate populations, and alter landscapes.⁹

Further reading

• IPBES, Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services (summary for policy makers), 2019.
• SDC, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development. Nexus Brief, Nr. 9, February 2022.
• WEF, The Global Risks Report, 16th Edition. Insight Report, 2021.
• WWF, Living Planet Report 2020 - Bending the curve of biodiversity loss. Almond, R.E.A., Grooten, M. and Petersen, T. (Eds). WWF, Gland, Switzerland, 2020.

Sources

• PWC, Managing nature risks: From understanding to action, 2023; World Economic Forum, Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy, 2020.
• IPBES: Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services, 2019; UNEP, Becoming #GenerationRestoration: Ecosystem restoration for people, nature and climate, 2021; IIED, Biodiversity loss is a development issue, 2019.
• IPBES, Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services, p. 11, 2019.
• IPBES, Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services, 2019.
• OECD, Climate Tipping Points: Insights for Effective Policy Action, 2022.
• Ortiz et al., A review of the interactions between biodiversity, agriculture, climate change, and international trade: research and policy priorities, 2021.
• Nature Fund, Natural Resources, 2024.
• OECD, Natural resources and development, 2024.
• WWF, Biodiversity and Infrastructure: A better nexus?, 2017.