As Earth’s biodiversity declines, the perilous consequences are proving to only rise. The destabilization of national economies, threats to food systems, escalation of climate change, and likelihood of global pandemics such as COVID-19 are all increasingly linked to the loss of the planet’s variety of life.

This year, however, the UN Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) is set to instate a new global plan for biodiversity conservation that will run through 2030, seeing nations and leaders commit to higher standards of protection and restoration of natural habitats and ecosystems.