Close-Up: UNESCO and biodiversity: creating harmony

Biodiversity is the living fabric of our planet. It underpins human well-being in the present and in the future, and its rapid decline threatens nature and people alike. According to the first intergovernmental global biodiversity report released in 2019 by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the main global drivers of biodiversity loss are climate change, invasive species, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution and urbanization. Both direct drivers and indirect ones such as social values and behaviours need to be addressed at the same time to halt biodiversity erosion.