Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity

Abstract

The most unique feature of Earth is the existence of life, and the most extraordinary feature of life is its diversity. Approximately 9 million types of plants, animals, protists and fungi inhabit the Earth. So, too, do 7 billion people. Two decades ago, at the first Earth Summit, the vast majority of the world's nations declared that human actions were dismantling the Earth's ecosystems, eliminating genes, species and biological traits at an alarming rate. This observation led to the question of how such loss of biological diversity will alter the functioning of ecosystems and their ability to provide society with the goods and services needed to prosper.

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Affiliated Institutions

• Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique FR
• Western Washington University US
• Arizona State University US
• University of Minnesota US
• Station d’Écologie Théorique et Expérimentale FR
• Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SE
• Stanford University US
• Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle FR
• University of Michigan US
• United States Geological Survey US
• Columbia University US
• Imperial College London GB
• McGill University CA
• University of British Columbia CA
• William & Mary US

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