The richness of life on Earth—its biodiversity—is in trouble. Scientists estimate that a million plant and animal species like Madagascar’s flowering forest coconut palm and the African white-backed vulture are at risk of extinction, many within the next few decades. This rate of species loss is unprecedented and could be as devastating for the planet as climate change. World leaders are now meeting to thrash out a new global deal to save what’s left. Here’s what you need to know. 

Why is biodiversity declining?

Human activity is mostly to blame. Converting land and sea for agriculture and aquaculture among other uses is the most destructive force, say scientists. Harvesting animals and plants in excessive amounts for use in legal and illicit trade is also hugely damaging. For example, endangered pangolins—demure-looking anteaters endemic to Africa and Asia—are hunted for their scales, which are used in traditional medicines. Tropical big-leaf mahogany trees are felled for use in luxury furniture and musical instruments, threatening their survival. Climate change and pollution also makes life difficult for many species. As temperatures rise, coral reefs are struggling to cope. Nitrogen pollution from agricultural runoff and sewage leaks fuels algal blooms that smother sea life. This problem is felt in the east coast of Florida, for example, where regular episodes of thick algae choke out seagrass and manatees in the area. Lastly, invasive species like the toxic cane toad can wipe out local native species. “Collectively as a planet we are doing horribly,” says Paul Todd, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, DC. “The scale of the problem is shocking.” 

What is the biological diversity convention?

The United Nations Convention on Biodiversity is a legally binding international treaty to protect biodiversity, promote sustainable development, and fairly share the benefits of genetic resources. It came into being in 1992 at the UN’s Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Today 193 countries and political unions—excluding the United States—have signed on. The convention was set up as part of a global agreement, known as Agenda 21, to develop the planet in a way that leaves a healthy and viable world for future generations. The governing body of the convention, known as the conference of the parties, is made up of all the states and other parties that have signed the treaty. It usually meets every two years. Due to the pandemic, it is meeting virtually this year, on October 11 to 15, and in person next year, from April 25 to May 8 in Kunming, China. At the summits, experts and national representatives will hammer out and agree to a new deal that sets out how nations will achieve the convention’s biodiversity goals by 2030 and beyond. (The convention’s previous 10-year strategy ended last year.)

What is the new deal to save biodiversity?

The convention’s new deal proposes 21 targets to stem the loss of biodiversity and protect ecosystems. It includes goals to protect at least 30 percent of all land and seas across the globe, to cut in half the rate of harmful species invading new habitats, and reducing by at least half nutrients from fertilizer and sewage leaking into the environment. It also suggests that governments cut by at least $500 billion per year subsidies that are harmful to biodiversity, such as those encouraging farmers to produce more crops than necessary, and proposes that the freed-up funds go to conservation and sustainable development projects instead. The new deal asks governments to increase funding for conservation, including an extra $200 billion per year for the developing countries that house much of the world’s biodiversity. It also sets out four longer-term goals, including reducing the extinction rate by at least tenfold by 2050 and fully accounting for the contribution that nature makes to people including economic growth and human well-being. 

What has the world done so far to protect nature?

Not enough. The world failed to meet most of the goals it set itself in the convention’s previous strategy, although countries did manage to safeguard at least 15 percent of land and 7 percent of oceans in protected areas, almost meeting their targets. Unfortunately, the protections failed to stop species from declining. Part of the problem is that many protected areas were not established in those ecosystems that are most rich in plant and animal life. The protections also often excluded Indigenous groups who are best at safeguarding local ecosystems, says James Watson, a conservation scientist at the University of Queensland, Australia. “Most protected areas have no biodiversity value. That’s why species are not being saved,” he says. Researchers are trying to work out where the world’s most important biodiversity hot spots are, in order to inform future decisions about where to set up protected areas. 

Although countries failed to achieve the previous biodiversity goals, extinction rates would have been between 2.9 to 4.2 times greater without the conservation actions they did take, research shows. “The deal was not a complete success. Very few targets were delivered. But the state of biodiversity would have been much worse without it,” says Thomas Brooks, chief scientist at the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

What could upend the new deal?

So many things. A crunch issue is how ambitious the biodiversity goals should be. Some conservation groups and richly biodiverse nations don’t think the deal goes far enough. For example, the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, Arizona, wants to see countries commit to end species extinctions. Also, funding is tight. Economists calculate that an extra $598 billion to $824 billion per year is needed to protect biodiversity. Some of the world’s wealthiest philanthropists recently pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years for biodiversity conservation. Conservation groups say the funding is a welcome start but doesn’t quite plug the gap. “The amount of resources it will take to accomplish even somewhat ambitious goals far exceeds the kinds of commitments that have been made so far,” says Todd.

Where is the United States in all this?

On the outside. The US is the only country that has not signed up to the Convention on Biological Diversity, despite being instrumental in its conception and development. Experts don’t think that President Biden is likely to end that boycott anytime soon. Biden has, however, committed to conserve at least 30 percent of US lands and ocean by 2030. Local communities will help design and lead conservation efforts. And projects will respect the rights and priorities of tribal nations, says Biden. Even though it is not party to the convention, the United States can still influence the global biodiversity agenda, says Tanya Sanerib, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity: “The US carries weight whether it is in the Convention on Biological Diversity or not,” she says.