Preserving biodiversity by protecting and connecting at least half the world’s land
We need a global vision and strategy to address three converging crises – climate change, loss of biodiversity, and the emergence of novel viruses such as COVID-19. We created the Global Safety Net to save the diversity and abundance of life on earth by providing science, coordination, and thought leadership to help protect at least half the world’s land. Totaling 50.4% of the Earth’s land, the Global Safety Net is a science-based unifying vision for protecting and restoring the natural world.
Published in 2020, the Global Safety Net (GSN) is the first global-scale analysis of terrestrial areas essential for biodiversity and climate resilience. The research builds upon global-scale data sets to identify areas that require conservation beyond the 15.1% of land currently protected. The Global Safety Net has been featured in a number of popular press articles and is available for viewing via a web app.
To achieve a world half-protected will require several decades of effort and extensive support from groups working on the ground in various countries around the world. To this end, RESOLVE supports the Nature Needs Half Network and their efforts to build grassroots efforts around the world. Our studies on An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm (2017) and a Global Deal for Nature (2019) helped form the basis for calls to create a companion agreement to the Paris Climate Agreement, focused on the conservation and restoration of nature.
At RESOLVE, we’re here to tackle the toughest global challenges. The ones nobody else wants to touch. Where people are in conflict and planet problems are stuck. We’re here to unstick them. It’s not easy. It takes grit and ingenuity. And finding and working with the right partners. But we’re not called RESOLVE for nothing.
