Planet on Red Alert
Biodiversity is Life. It is the set of all life forms that make up the genetic capital of our planet. And it is the basis of the ecology which corresponds to the integrated way in which all organisms live and relate to each other, thereby ensuring the balance of the Earth.
Humanity, and its different societies, have always depended on Biodiversity. And nowadays this is no exception: many technologies and equipment derive directly from Humanity’s knowledge of Nature - which allows for the use of many services and products associated with Biodiversity for our own benefit. Each €1 invested in nature restoration returns €8 to €38 in benefit.
Despite the importance of Biodiversity for our Planet and Humanity, the risks that threaten it are increasing. The Living Planet Report 2020 published by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), shows that global populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish have declined by around 68% in the last 50 years – a decrease which can only be compared to previous mass extinction events. This is coupled with the destruction of the most biodiverse habitats, such as tropical forests and wetlands. In the European Union more than 80% of natural habitats are at a level which is considered “poor” and one in three bee and butterfly species are in decline.
Hence, the participants at the last Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) held in Canada in December 2022, agreed to preserve 30% of the planet’s most threatened ecosystems, to defend the rights of indigenous peoples and to invest 30 billion dollars in nature conservation by 2030.
In May 2020, the European Commission established the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. This is a comprehensive, ambitious, long-term plan to protect nature and reverse the process of ecosystem degradation, which aims to put Europe’s biodiversity on a path to recovery by 2030. Examples of such commitments are to:
- Legally protect a minimum of 30% of the EU’s land surface and 30% of its marine area and include ecological corridors as part of a genuine trans-European nature network;
- Confer strict protection on at least one third of the EU’s protected areas, including all remaining primary and old-growth forests in the EU;
- Effectively manage all protected areas by defining clear conservation goals and measures, and monitoring them appropriately.
Faced with this challenge, Bondalti has embraced several Nature Conservation and Scientific Research projects. Including various protected species, belonging to different ecosystems and located in different geographical areas. From the endangered Iberian lynx and imperial eagles in the southern strip between Portugal and Spain, through protecting their prey and the Mediterranean forest; to the grizzly bears that still survive in the Cantabrian Mountain range in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. From the marine animals that flock to Portuguese shores, be they birds, seals, reptiles or dolphins; to the waders that nest or seek shelter in the main Portuguese wetlands before their lengthy migrations to Africa or Northern Europe, often near the Arctic Circle.
RELATED CONTENTS:
