A Unesco article says that more acutely than ever, the current crisis makes us aware of the fragility of life on earth.
‘Biodiversity’ is our modern expression for this “life” in all its forms, but throughout the history of humankind, celebrating it has been an integral part of all cultures.
In past eras, the concept was local, we celebrated our own animals, plants, forests; and beyond our horizon the planet’s biodiversity seemed limitless. Today, we have reached these limits.
This year, a lot of visibility has been given to the risk of zoonotic diseases. We live closer and closer to places that used to be ‘remote’, so the risk of disease transmission increases. But scientists are also ever more aware that biodiversity is our ‘toolbox’ to find cures or vaccines.
Further reading
- UN: Reflect nature’s true value in economic policies
- Dependence on nature reflected in new UN accounting framework
- More than half the world’s GDP depends on healthy biodiversity
