Senckenberg Topics

About the importance of saving the biodiversity of our planet and the CBD Zero Draft

Interview with Dr. Hanieh Saeedi (SF)


On January 13th, the secretary´s office of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) released the “Zero Draft“, a result of past and recent findings about the state of global biodiversity and as a proposition for a framework of action about conservation and restauration goals for the next decade. 

Senckenberg researcher Dr. Hanieh Saeedi explains why assessments like the Zero Draft are important and why we need to act on saving the biodiversity of our planet immediately. Dr. Saeedi’s work at IPBES will contribute to international marine biodiversity research.

Why is the CBD Zero Draft important?

The Zero Draft from the CBD is important because society has to make sure that the goal of saving the biodiversity of our planet, and therefore assuring human wellbeing, is accomplished within the next 50 years. 

 

 

What happens if none of the goals from the Zero Draft are met?

Nature is not very predictable. However, by modeling animals, predictions about their extinction can be made, if global warming continues like now. Apart from extinction, many species will have to extend their distribution ranges to higher or lower latitudes in order to survive temperature changes. This affects species local in that area, because they compete against each other. Invasive species could thus replace the original species, which affects the trophic level and causes ongoing problems. By 2050, Saeedi predicts a loss of about 1 million species, adding up to other severe problems like ocean asphyxiation and pollution.

 

 

Why is losing resources and species affecting us?

Humans are dependent on the ocean and its resources. The ocean does not only provide us with food, but also with minerals, oils and other important resources. Raw material for medicine, for example against cancer, is collected from the sea. If we lose these resources, we might be facing hard problems in treating people who have certain diseases. These dependencies have to be considered in order to guarantee a high quality of life. We are responsible for preserving and conserving these natural resources.