The global biodiversity crisis is linked to sustainable development in many ways. Biodiversity and functional ecosystems do not only have a high intrinsic value, but nature also provides indispensable ecosystem services to support human livelihood. A large proportion of the global human population depends directly or indirectly on healthy ecosystems, and minimizing trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and human development is thus one of the major challenges ahead.

To address these challenges, science-policy-practice interfaces bodies such as IPBES play a crucial role as they help translate scientific evidence into policy options. At ZEF, several research projects and doctoral theses focus on the interconnectedness between biodiversity and sustainable human development, such as WABES, LANUSYNCON and AFAS. All these initiatives strive for the valuation and higher recognition of biodiversity and endorse the importance of implementing measures for its conservation as a precondition for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

(Text: Henning Sommer; Photo: Tina Beuchelt, Malaysia)