Biodiversity, climate and nutrition - insights based on the findings and decisions of the World Climate and Biodiversity Councils.

The lecture will cover the observed trends in biodiversity and ecosystem services, the interaction of various crises, and the options we (still) have for sustainable development - and above all on the basis of approaches that the international community has already formally identified as possible solutions. Accordingly, policies must be realigned and we cannot continue to act as if nature and its resources were a magic barrel re-filling on its own.

The consequences of biodiversity loss can also be seen in Covid-19 and other infectious diseases, which are also symptoms of our treatment of nature - as are species extinction and climate change. In many parts of the world, we are seeing the destruction of species-rich systems which means that a few species are becoming more dominant and developing higher densities. This then sometimes leads to the spread of viruses (as there is no diversity of hosts), the outbreak of pests (as there is no diversity of antagonists), or the death of forests (which lack the diversity of tree species to be more resistant to change).

Using the example of insects - with a focus on pollinators - the lecture will also show how local and regional solutions can be tackled individually, but above all in the overall landscape, and the relationship between biodiversity, climate and nutrition.
Josef Settele, UFZ Halle (Josef.Settele@ufz.de)

Josef Settele, Head of the Department of Conservation Research at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research at Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg. Researches the ecology of cultural landscapes, biodiversity, land use, and socio-ecological systems.