Understand | The decline of biodiversity

Climate change and the decline in biodiversity are two closely related crises. But we often talk about the first to the detriment of the second, which is considered more complex. The director of the brand new Quebec Center for Biodiversity Research, Jérôme Dupras, summarizes the issues and offers some sources to better understand the effects of human activities on nature.

An essential state of affairs

“In most parts of the world, nature has now been significantly altered by multiple human factors, and the vast majority of ecosystem and biodiversity indicators show rapid decline. In total, 75% of the land surface is significantly altered, 66% of the oceans are experiencing increasing cumulative impacts, and more than 85% of wetland areas have been lost.”

In 2019, the findings of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) were clear, especially since it was estimated at the time that around 1 million species were already threatened with extinction. “IPBES is the biodiversity equivalent of the IPCC [pour le climat]specifies Jérôme Dupras. The foreword [du rapport] provides an excellent overview of the importance of this work, which has set the new benchmark for the 2020s and the new global biodiversity framework.” The IPBES report’s 60-page summary for policymakers is a must-read, says Dupras.

Read the summary for policymakers prepared by IPBES

A podcast about nature

“Nature is central to our well-being and survival. It is also essential in the face of the dual crises of climate and biodiversity. Scientists around the world agree on one observation: we must rethink our relationship with nature.” From the outset, biologist Kateri Monticone sets the tone for the podcast Nature objectiveproduced by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, a non-profit organization that advocates for the protection of biodiversity.

“It’s an excellent podcast in several episodes that allows us to better understand multiple dimensions of biodiversity,” emphasizes Jérôme Dupras. With around fifteen episodes to date, Nature objective addresses various issues affecting biodiversity, from land use planning to the impact of natural environments on health, including our relationship with nature and the importance of ecological corridors. In each episode, the host interviews Quebec experts to better understand the topic on the agenda.

Listen to the podcast episodes Nature objectivealso available on Spotify

Redefining our relationship with nature

“The Committee believes that Quebec must consider the biodiversity crisis with the same levels of urgency and attention as those given to the climate crisis. These two crises are intrinsically linked: climate change degrades biodiversity, ecosystems and the services they provide, causing significant damage and losses, even though maintaining functional and diversified ecosystems is essential to preserve their role in sequestering greenhouse gases.”

The committee in question is the Climate Change Advisory Committee, which advises Quebec’s environment minister on climate-related issues. In November 2022, the expert group, which includes Jérôme Dupras, published a report entitled Climate and biodiversity: redefining our relationship with natureThe committee said it wanted to sound the alarm on the eve of COP15 on biodiversity, which was held in Montreal in December 2022. “This is a report that highlights the links between climate change and biodiversity across Quebec,” says the researcher, who also holds the Canada Research Chair in Ecological Economics.

Check out the report

The effects of nature on human health

The importance of biodiversity for human health is too often underestimated. For example, 70% of drugs used to treat cancer are made from natural products or from synthetic products inspired by nature, underlines the IPBES. Conversely, the destruction of nature can lead to the appearance of diseases. Jérôme Dupras suggests reading the book The making of pandemicsby Marie-Monique Robin and Serge Morand, “an interesting book for understanding the links between ecosystem health and human health,” he notes. The essay focuses on the consequences of deforestation, urbanization, industrial agriculture and globalization on human health. Its author, journalist Marie-Monique Robin, is known in particular for her documentary The world according to Monsantopublished in 2008.