Lisbon Declaration

Consensual scientific assessments alert that the planet is losing nature at an unprecedented rate, towards dangerous tipping points. Over the last 50 years, wildlife populations have declined by 60%, and scientists warn that we have entered a 6th mass extinction of life on Earth. According to the IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, released in May 2019, the biosphere, upon which humanity depends, is being altered to an unparalleled degree across all spatial scales and biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. This massive loss of nature is degrading the natural systems that underpin our societies and economies, and the rate of degradation is accelerating. The consequences are even worse where populations are more directly dependent on nature, further exacerbating an already inequitable world.