Biodiversité

A ‘Blueprint’ to save critical ecosystems and stabilize the Earth’s climate.

More than two years in development, the Global Safety Net is the first comprehensive global-scale analysis of terrestrial areas essential for biodiversity and climate resilience, totaling 50.4% of the Earth's land. The report was published in Science Advances and highlights the importance of protecting and restoring the natural world to address three converging crises -- climate change, the loss of biodiversity, and the emergence of novel viruses such as COVID-19.

Habitat connectivity is essential for maintaining populations of wildlife species, especially as climate changes. Knowledge about the fate of existing habitat networks in a changing climate and in light of land-use change is critical for determining which types of conservation actions must be taken to maintain those networks. However, information is lacking about how multiple focal species that use similar habitats overlap in the degree and geographic patterns of threats to linkages among currently suitable habitat patches. We sought to address that gap. We assessed climate change threat to existing linkages in the southeastern United States for three wildlife species that use similar habitats but differ in the degree to which their ranges are limited by climate, habitat specificity, and dispersal ability.

Le « filet de sécurité mondial » décrit comment une conservation étendue de la nature répond à ces deux menaces globales. Les auteurs identifient 50% du domaine terrestre qui, s’il était conservé, inverserait la tendance future à la perte de biodiversité, empêcherait les émissions de CO2 dues au changement d’usage des terres et renforcerait le […]