Facts about the nature crisis

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What you need to know about the nature crisis

We are experiencing a dangerous decline in nature and humans are causing it:

• We are using the equivalent of 1.6 Earths to maintain our current way of life and ecosystems cannot keep up with our demands. (Becoming Generation Restoration, UNEP)
• One million of the world’s estimated 8 million species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction. (IPBES)
• 75 percent of the Earth’s land surface has been significantly altered by human actions, including 85 percent of wetland areas. (IPBES)
• 66 percent of ocean area is impacted by human activities, including from fisheries and pollution. (IPBES)
• Close to 90% of the world’s marine fish stocks are fully exploited, overexploited or depleted. (UNCTAD)
• Our global food system is the primary driver of biodiversity loss with agriculture alone being the identified threat 24,000 of the 28,000 species at risk of extinction. (Chatham House and UNEP)
• Agricultural expansion is said to account for 70% of the projected loss of terrestrial biodiversity. (CBD)

From December 7-19, countries met in Montreal for COP15 to strike a landmark agreement to guide global actions on biodiversity. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework lays out an ambitious plan that addresses the key drivers of biodiversity loss and puts us on the path to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. See UNEP’s COP-15 page for more information and the latest updates.

In Nature Action

What are the impacts of nature loss and degradation

Nature loss has far-reaching consequences. Damaged ecosystems exacerbate climate change, undermine food security and put people and communities at risk. 

• Around 3.2 billion people, or 40 percent of the global population, are adversely affected by land degradation.
• Up to $577 billion in annual global crop production is at risk from pollinator loss.
• 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are generated by land clearing, crop production and fertilization.
• Development is putting animals and humans in closer contact increasing the risk of diseases like COVID-19 to spread. About 60 percent of human infections are estimated to have an animal origin. 
• 100-300 million people are at increased risk of floods and hurricanes because of coastal habitat loss. 
• Declines in nature and biodiversity at current trajectories will undermine progress toward 35 out of 44 of the targets of SDGs related to poverty, hunger, health, water cities, climate, oceans and land.

What do we need to do to halt and reverse nature loss?

We only have until the end of the decade to bend the curve on nature and biodiversity loss. Transformational change is possible if we start now at every level from local to global. Actions that should be taken include:

• The UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Montreal later this year must culminate in a clearly defined, ambitious Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework that is matched by finances and accountability mechanisms to achieve the framework’s targets. Read more about COP 15.
• Investments in nature-based solutions will need to at least triple by 2030 if the world is to meet its climate change, biodiversity and land degradation targets. Explore UNEP’s State of Finance for Nature report and watch the video.
• Preventing the large-scale collapse of nature will require effective conservation of more of our land, inland waters and oceans, as well as the world delivering on its current commitment to restore at least one billion hectares of degraded land in the next decade. Learn about the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
• Agriculture has altered the face of the planet more than any other human activity. We need to transform our food systems to become more sustainable and resilient in order to reverse environmental degradation, restore ecosystems and ensure food and nutritional security. Read about food system impacts on nature and biodiversity.
• Governments must assign a financial value on the services that nature provides to people so that environmental action can be prioritized in policy and investment decisions. Read the IPBES new report for how assigning values to nature can help address biodiversity loss.
• Tax structures and subsidies should be reformed to incentivize sustainable production and ensure that environmental degradation no longer pays. This joint FAO-UNDP-UNEP report calls for governments to rethink the way agriculture is subsidized and supported.
• Corporations should put sustainability at the heart of decision making and focus on new sustainable business models to meet society’s needs in ways less impactful on the environment. UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook for Business briefs provide roadmaps that business can follow to address our environmental challenges.
• All financial players should align their business strategies with global and national sustainability goals including the SDGs, the Paris Agreement and the upcoming Biodiversity Framework. Read more about how to catalyze action across the financial system.
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• Facts about the nature crisis | UNEP - UN Environment Programme