UNSDG Goal 15: Life on Land
Nature is critical to our survival: it provides us with oxygen, regulates weather patterns, pollinates crops, and thus produces our food, feed and fiber. However, our nature is under increasing stress. Human activity has altered almost 75 per cent of the earth’s surface, squeezing wildlife and nature into an ever-smaller corner of the planet.
Around 1 million animal and plant species are threatened by extinction – many as quickly as within decades – according to the 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service. The report called for transformative changes to restore and protect nature. It found that the health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever, affecting the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health, and quality of life worldwide.
The EU Tech Chamber strongly believes that we cannot continue like this, we must be respectful towards wildlife by sustainably managing and maintaining forests, combatting desertification through CO2 reduction and prevention, protecting biodiversity and promoting ecotourism opportunities that are responsibly and ethically run in order to prevent wildlife disturbance. Well managed protected areas support healthy ecosystems, which in turn keep people healthy.