The protection of biodiversity and particularly of "sexy species" is of high interest for the public. Biodiversity hotspots and many of the more popularly perceived sexy species, such as tigers, elephants, rare birds and insects or medically relevant plant species are mainly concentrated in the Global South. The tremendous losses in biodiversity in the Amazon region or in still pristine forests in the Guinean zone in Africa are more than alarming. Pressures on natural resource extraction particularly from Asia, North America and Europe culminate in the destruction of highly valuable and very rare ecosystems with huge impacts on biodiversity and climate regulation, as well on the living conditions, cultural heritages and rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC). Additionally, contemporary military conflicts such as in the Near East or in Eastern Europe are also prone to destroying rare ecosystems such as the boreal forests.

Inherited knowledge on how to sustainably manage such ecosystems and protect biodiversity as a basis of life are destroyed through such conflicts and will lead to unpredictable losses in sustainable management capacities for vulnerable social-ecological systems.

The research on impacts of conflicts and crises on long-term biodiversity trends is not yet established. A challenge for the future will be to monitor the combined impacts on people and nature from an inter- and multidisciplinary perspective. Uprooted people, unguided land use and lost knowledge on how to sustainably manage nature are – next to climate change – the most important threats for the future of biodiversity.

Speakers:

Zsolt Molnár (Centre for Ecological Research, Hungary) – “The role of traditional and local knowledge in resolving and avoiding conflicts around biodiversity conservation”

Harini Nagendra (Azim Premji University, India) – “Connecting people and nature in Global South cities: Challenges and opportunities for nature-based solutions”