Choosing what we eat, voting: what we can do to stop biodiversity loss

In 2024, IPBES, a leading intergovernmental organization that provides knowledge and science on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP), will Received the Blue Planet Award.

Since its establishment in 2012, IPBES has scientifically evaluated knowledge about biodiversity, advocated global biodiversity loss and conservation, and provided the wealth of data needed to drive policy decisions and actions.I’ve been doing it.

We spoke to Dr. Anne Larrigauderie, Executive Director, about the importance of biodiversity and concrete actions that can stop its loss.

(Reconstructed from interview in May 2024 and award commemorative lecture on October 24, 2024)

Assessing and providing evidence for what biodiversity and nature provide to people

“Nature-positive” and “regenerative” – ​​terms such as these are heard more frequently in Japan, and it can be said that domestic recognition of the importance of biodiversity has finally increased in Japan.

However, the speed of extinction of biological species is still accelerating, and the decline in fishing resources and the decline of honeybees is having a negative impact on food production, affecting our standard of living.Biodiversity loss is a crisisWe are welcoming you.

An organization that has contributed to the formation of a global common understanding by communicating the status of biodiversity based on scientific evidence is the IPBES (IPBES), which received the 2024 Blue Planet Award. “Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on System Services”.

IPBES evaluates the latest scientific knowledge and evidence regarding biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people (NCP: Nature’s Contributions to People *explained at the end of the article) and provides the basis for policy decisions. .

IPBES also plays a similar role to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) in climate change issues.

At the request of member countries (Japan has been a member since 2012), scientists work together across borders to aggregate scientific evidence on biodiversity from diverse knowledge systems, including indigenous and local knowledge. , evaluate what nature offers to humans. We have published several important evaluation reports.

“The impetus for the establishment of IPBES was the Earth Summit held in 1992.

This summit established the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

From its inception, the UNFCCC has benefited from scientific information on climate change provided by the IPCC, which was established in 1988.

However, the debate on biodiversity loss has not progressed that far.In 2012, about 20 years after the Earth Summit, we, IPBES, were finally established.(Dr. Larigoderly)

Dr. Anne Larrigauderie, who has served as executive director since 2014, talked about the history of the organization, comparing the relationship between science and policy regarding climate change and biodiversity.

“Our role is toNot to recommend policy, but to provide relevant and reliable information.is. We strive to be an entity that guarantees the credibility and legitimacy of our measures,” he says, explaining the position that IPBES values.

For example, the IPBES evaluation report, like the IPCC evaluation report, includes a summary for policymakers, but this summary includes the following: “How well did experts evaluate each finding and response?” Are you confident?” to help readers more clearly understand the current knowledge and certainty of each key message.

Additionally, IPBES values ​​an interdisciplinary approach.Assessing the status of biodiversity while relying on multiple knowledge systems, including not only scientific knowledge but also indigenous and local knowledgeIt seems that they are doing so.

“About 1 million species are at risk of extinction.”

IPBES has produced 11 landmark reports over the past 10 years.

In 2016, under the theme of “Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production,” we scientifically revealed that pollinator species such as bees, butterflies, birds, and bats are drastically decreasing, and we focused on food production and food security. It has become clear that this is causing a huge economic loss. This report had a huge impact on the world and served as a turning point to widely publicize the significance of IPBES’ existence.

The Global Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, compiled by IPBES in 2019, was compiled by approximately 500 scientists from around the world, referenced more than 15,000 documents, and compiled 20,000 specialized articles. This is a compilation of opinions from the family. Dr. Larigoderly said the Global Report provided very important findings.

“First, we know that nature is being lost at a rate and scale unprecedented in human history, and that this is due to human activity.

75% of the Earth’s surface has been significantly altered, and approximately 1 million of the estimated 8.1 million species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction.I understand that.

This number has become a symbol of the biodiversity crisis and has spread around the world. To this day, this number is almost always quoted when people talk about biodiversity loss.” (Dr. Larigoderly)

The second finding is that nature provides humans (NCP) is degrading globally.

The NCP has 18 categories, of which 14 have deteriorated over the past 50 years. These 14 categories include all three categories: “Regulating NCP,” “Material NCP,” and “Non-material NCP.” Ten categories were classified as “contribution by adjustment function.”

This “regulatory contribution” is related to the important functions of the ecosystems on which humans depend. For example, the ability of ecosystems to pollinate crops, mitigate climate change, provide fresh water in sufficient quantity and quality, and suppress disease outbreaks has deteriorated over the past 50 years.

“Nature’s immaterial contributions, such as its ability to provide humans with a sense of identity and physical and psychological experience, are similarly degraded.

Non-material contributions are often difficult to quantify, but they play a very important role in people’s quality of life.

When people lose the land or natural environment that they feel they belong to, they feel as if they have lost a part of themselves and that their self-worth has been lost.(Dr. Larigoderly)

Update your values ​​and respect biodiversity

“We need to address the causes of biodiversity loss.

IPBES identified five proximate causes.Five things: deforestation, overfishing in the ocean, climate change, environmental pollution (pesticides, plastics, etc.), and invasive alien species.is.

People must change their behavior and address the direct causes of nature loss. The time has come to update our values.

Ultimately, at the root of all actions and decisions are the values ​​and actions of individuals.” (Dr. Larigoderly)

Dr. Larigoderly talks about the actions we should take from now on. In addition to considering these internal factors, he also talked about specific measures, saying, “The first measure isProtect and maintain undisturbed natural areasThat’s true.”

These measures were included as a global target by 2030 in the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework adopted at COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in December 2022.

The so-called “30 by 30 goal” aims to expand and manage protected areas on both land and sea. The Japanese government also agrees to this framework and has already begun moving toward converting 30% of its land and marine areas into protected areas.

“A key part of this goal is to identify representative ecosystems that should be protected, demarcate them, and manage them effectively.

It is also important to ensure that protected areas are interconnected so that species can migrate as a result of climate change.

However, it is not enough to just protect 30% of the land and sea areas; we also need to pay attention to the remaining 70% of the earth’s surface. To achieve this, it will be necessary to put biodiversity at the center of economic activity.” (Dr. Larigoderly)

Additionally, Dr. LarigoderlyThe importance of agriculture for biodiversityI also emphasize.

Agriculture competes with natural ecosystems for land and causes greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. For example, pesticides harm biodiversity and people’s health.

IPBES has shown that humans can take steps to restore terrestrial biodiversity by practicing environmentally friendly agriculture. However, he points out that the current situation is that “farmers are not getting the support they need to change their conventional farming methods, so there is no progress in switching to farming methods that have less environmental impact.”

“Agricultural reform is a shortcut to speedily halting the loss of biodiversity.Agriculture is linked to five direct causes of biodiversity loss.

There are important things that not only farmers but also consumers can do.

It’s about eating healthier and more sustainably. By choosing crops that are produced with consideration for the ecosystem and reducing the intake of animal proteins that have a high environmental impact, we can reduce deforestation and overfishing, and contribute to the restoration of biodiversity.” (Dr. Larigoderly)

Everyone has a role. choosing food and voting

In just one week after its release, the 2019 IPBES Global Assessment Report received coverage in more than 160 countries around the world, with over 33,000 articles published in 55 languages.

Summarizing the past 10 years, Dr. Larrigauderie says, “IPBES has helped raise biodiversity issues to the same level of urgency and priority as climate change.”

“What is important is that this reportA comrade was bornThat’s it. Aware of the challenges of not only climate change but also biodiversity loss, young leaders such as Greta Thunberg are now speaking out against biodiversity loss in their own words. (Dr. Larigoderly)

Following the release of the 2019 Global Assessment Report, IPBES findings have entered the World Economic Forum’s annual list of the five most important risks for business for the first time.

The business world has begun to actively address biodiversity.It is. Currently, there are many requests from companies for guidance on biodiversity, and IPBES is currently compiling a report exploring how companies can better protect, restore and utilize biodiversity. . An assessment report on companies and biodiversity is scheduled to be published in 2025.

IPBES is also working to update the Global Assessment Report in 2028-2029 at the request of governments. The second edition of the Global Assessment Report will also include information on how much progress the government is making toward its 2030 goals.

IPBES will soon publish two new evaluation reports.

“Nexus evaluation report” addresses the complex interrelationships and interactions between biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate change. It also considers the costs of inaction and suggests a wide range of responses. Show.

Another thing, “Transformative change assessment report” uncovers the root causes of the biodiversity crisis and assesses scenarios for a more just and sustainable world.

“IPBES has had an impact on the world, but theEfforts by each country are not sufficient and the speed is slow.I have to say.

So we need to go beyond just producing reports and engage more deeply with policy makers.

Scientific culture and government culture are completely different. But if we are to translate our reporting into policy and effectively halt biodiversity loss, we need to build long and substantial bridges between scientists and policy makers.”

In conclusion, Dr. Abe gave two pieces of advice that the general public can give regarding biodiversity.

First of all,choose food carefullyThat’s it. Choosing food produced through sustainable agriculture and fishing, and reducing the amount of animal protein that contributes to the destruction of rainforests and the amount of seafood that contributes to overfishing, contributes to the conservation of species.

Second, citizens who have the right to vote areVote for politicians who care about biodiversityThat’s it.

“Everyone has a role to play. Together with the younger generation, we must change the negative trends of environmental degradation into positive directions.

The issue of biodiversity loss is extremely complex. People from various scientific fields, from sociology to natural science, need to be involved.

By connecting with many academics, cultures, and societies, you can shorten the time it takes to solve problems.Probably. I look forward to your future.” (Dr. Larigoderly)

^{*Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP) refers to all the relationships humans receive from nature. It includes not only ecosystem goods, services, and things, but also negative contributions such as pests, pathogens, and predators, and can be broadly categorized into the following three contributions.}

^{1.Contribution through natural regulatory functions: Refers to the functional and structural aspects of living organisms and ecosystems. These change the conditions of the environment in which humans live and maintain and regulate the production of material and immaterial things. (e.g. water purification, climate regulation, soil erosion control)}

^{2. Material contributions from nature: Refers to materials, things, and other elements derived from the natural world that humans need to live. These are also necessary to maintain the infrastructure (buildings, roads, electricity supply, etc.) necessary for the operation of society and businesses. Specifically, this applies to things that are consumed in the process of processing and using plants and animals into food, energy, housing, decorations, etc.}

^{3.Nature’s non-physical contributions: Things that contribute to the subjective and psychological quality of life of individuals and groups. These intangible benefits include those that are consumed in the process of exploitation (e.g. animals in recreational or ceremonial fishing or hunting) and those that are not (e.g. individual trees as a source of inspiration). and ecosystems).}

Reprinted from Asahi Glass Foundation “af Magazine” (Released on November 29, 2024)

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