Science Strategy 2021-2025.
Name
RBG_Kew_Science_Strategy_2021-2025.pdf
Description
visibility:open
Size
7.04 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (CRC64NVME)
hvLW+vUN2Gs=
Resource type
Policy report
Date published
August 28, 2021
Abstract
Life on Earth is in peril. Never before have so many challenges manifested themselves so clearly and intensively. Every year, millions of hectares of forest are lost; fire devastates huge swathes of natural habitats; floods and hurricanes hit our cities; heat and drought reduce our harvests; people struggle to feed their children and combat disease; and species suffer a silent death, never to return.
These challenges are a direct or indirect result of unsustainable human activities, which are causing the depletion of natural resources and the widespread loss of biodiversity, our life-support system. The ‘Great Acceleration’
that characterises human development since the 1950s is also a time of ‘Great Decline’ for nature – a decline I have witnessed first-hand in the tropical ecosystems of my home country, Brazil. The devastating and intertwined impacts of biodiversity loss and climate change are affecting each one of us on this planet, some more than others. The decline of biodiversity means the reduction or loss of the many ecosystem services we rely on: the provision of natural products such as water, food, medicine, fuel and other materials; processes such as flood prevention and nutrient cycling; and cultural benefits such as recreation.
Science can provide answers to many of the challenges we face. Achieving sustainable human development across the globe requires fundamental understanding and practical solutions. The useful properties of plants and fungi are largely untapped and hold the potential to bring equitable benefits to people and nature.
In this document, we at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew present our ambitious plan to help stop biodiversity loss and develop sustainable nature-based solutions to some of our biggest global challenges. The next few years provide
a closing window of opportunity for societies to protect and sustainably use Earth’s remaining biodiversity and to restore what we have degraded.
Creator (organisation)
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Publisher
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Place of publication
Kew, UK
Rights statement
In Copyright