Over the past 50 years, biodiversity loss has taken place at an unprecedented scale driven by extraordinary change in land and sea use and the overexploitation of natural resources.
In an increasingly urbanized world, natural habitats have been converted to urban areas at an alarming rate. Historically, cities have posed a threat to biodiversity and natural ecosystems – but they can also be a part of the solution.

In the wake of World Environment Day, the Graduate Institute and UNEP have launched their new partnership, the Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS), to support dialogue and action on trade policies that advance environmental sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Mandated to ‘connect, inform, analyse and empower’, the work of TESS combines public facing events and policy briefs; expert and stakeholder roundtables; and off-the-record consultations key to supporting international policymaking processes.

Our efforts to protect and restore nature have overlooked the biggest single factor in biodiversity loss: the world’s inefficient and irresponsible use of natural resources.

Unsustainable trade is behind the biodiversity crisis threatening our existence. But done sustainably, international commerce can help protect our planet’s precious resources.

The world needs to quadruple its annual investment in nature if the climate, biodiversity and land degradation crises are to be tackled by the middle of the century. Investing just 0.1% of global GDP every year in restorative agriculture, forests, pollution management and protected areas to close a $4.1tn (£2.9tn) financial gap by 2050 could avoid the breakdown of natural ecosystem “services” such as clean water, food and flood protection.

The Big Green Internet Ltd. On the doorstep of the City of London. Last winter planted 41,000 trees (as new hedgerows), have 60,000+ planned for this winter ahead and half a million thereafter. Creating significant new wildlife habitat and natural capital. Project to link isolated and fragmented woods is under way too. This is a significant ecological intervention with quick win results (hedgerows grow fast).

Nature-based solutions play a crucial role in achieving water security. Read how New York City utilises nature to protect its unfiltered water supply.

As policymakers prepare for the CBD COP 15 (Kunming, 11-24 October 2021), Co-Chairs of the UNEP/International Resource Panel have published science-based principles to help them move beyond pledges and commitments.

The report features four principles to turn biodiversity loss into biodiversity value through Natural Resource Management:

- Know your true impact - Value-chain transparency
- Plan together - Integrated landscape planning
- Grow with nature - Nature-based and circular solutions
- Value nature - Recognize nature’s benefits

Those principles are also illustrated by a selection of case studies implemented successfully around the world.