Statement, 22. May 2025

The Mother of all Solutions

Diversity in nature could help us overcome some of our current challenges

A statement by Prof Dr Katrin Böhning-Gaese, Scientific Director of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and Professor of Anthropocene Biodiversity at the University of Leipzig.

During the climate protection negotiations in Paris in 2015 the following phrase was coined: The climate catastrophe is "the mother of all problems". Since then, we have repeatedly experienced new temperature records, years with droughts and years with unusual floods. One extreme value follows another, one catastrophe follows the next – even aside the issue of climate: The COVID-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine and in the Middle East, migration, economic downturn, erosion of the multilateral world order and trade wars. Even well-meaning people are overwhelmed, tired and depressed. The long-term challenges are nearly lost in this time of polycrisis.

This also applies to biodiversity, where the loss is dramatic. Not a month goes by without further declines being documented. The biodiversity fact check for Germany was published in the fall of 2024. More than 150 scientists from 75 institutions were involved in the project. The result: 60 percent of ecosystems in Germany are in poor condition. This means that insects are continuing to die off, bird populations are shrinking and even hedgehogs are now considered endangered. Internationally the situation is no less worrying. In other words: The web of nature is becoming more fragile. The consequences: Ecosystems are losing resilience, soils fertility, and ecosystem services for humans are declining. The problem is very well documented. The causes of species extinction have also been described a thousand times over, above all land-use change, intensive agriculture, ocean exploitation, increasing climate change and environmental pollution.

What is needed now are solutions, ideally "multi-solutions", to counter the polycrisis, the climate crisis, economic downturn, fatigue and depression. Fortunately, there is a solution: promotion of biodiversity, with positive side effects on ecosystems, the economy and health. Nature may not be the mother of all solutions, but it can make a key contribution to overcoming many crises. High biodiversity improves the resilience of ecosystems against disruption and enables them to recover more quickly: This is because in diverse ecosystems more species can take over each other's respective functions. For example, mixed forests in Germany have withstood heat, drought and bark beetles much better than monocultures. They retain more carbon in their ecosystem, make better use of nutrients and thus stabilise nitrogen and phosphorus cycles. As another example, diverse, living moors store water in the landscape and supply neighbouring areas in times of drought.

Biodiversity also favours sustainable business models. The food industry in particular is currently experiencing large fluctuations in agricultural production along the supply chains and therefore in prices, such as for olive oil, oranges and cocoa. These are caused by factors including climate change. It has been proven that diverse cultivation systems are more resilient, including resilience against climate change and agricultural pests. And there is another important advantage: More diverse ecosystems are also good for our health. Studies have shown that biodiversity improves happiness: Where there are lots of birds, people are mentally healthier and happier than elsewhere. This factor has just as strong an influence on well-being as income.

In short, measures promoting biodiversity have a significant and direct impact. Nevertheless, not enough is being done, instead the decline is continuing. The solutions are not complicated and scientifically well documented: Firstly, we need more and better managed protected areas plus more renaturation. This means we simply have to let nature be more nature again. This does not generally require significant management efforts, but rather a simple reduction of human usage. Most ecosystems can rebuild themselves into diverse ecosystems without human intervention. Examples include the Darß in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, old military training areas such as the Oranienbaumer Heide or the Anklamer Stadtbruch.

Secondly, we need a productive, yet biodiversity-friendly agriculture. Organic farming performs better here on average, but there is also a lot that can be done in conventional agriculture, for instance with flower strips, fallow land, hedges, trees or reduced chemical plant protection. Some very successful model projects demonstrate that a lot can be achieved in just a few years. Thirdly, and this applies to many environmental crises, sustainable consumption is important. Wasting less food and eating less meat could make a large contribution: The production of meat requires much more land than the production of plant-based foods – 160 times more for one kilogramme of beef, for example, than for one kilogramme of potatoes. This would free up land for protected areas and biodiversity-friendly agriculture. These three packages of measures – protected areas, sustainable production and sustainable consumption – would enable all people on earth to enjoy a good life, both now and in the future. And unlike climate change, the benefits would be directly felt by everyone. After all, a plant-based diet is proven to be healthier and the well-being is noticeably higher when nature is intact.

So, we know the solutions. And yet too little is happening. Why is that? Gus Speth, the long-standing head of the UN Development Programme, sees the following reason for this: "I used to think the top global environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. But I was wrong. It is selfishness, greed and apathy." As a remedy, he proposes a spiritual and cultural change. This socio-ecological transformation is also the overarching theme of the encyclical "Laudato si“ by the recently deceased Pope Francis, in which he pleads for greater frugality, humility and courageous action. With his death, this radical approach is once again gaining traction, while at the same time, in view of the above-mentioned polycrisis, it appears like an anachronism. But fortunately, even small steps in the right direction can make a difference if we all take them: going back to Sunday roasts, buying more organic goods, using up food instead of wasting it or wearing clothes for longer before discarding them. This benefits both ourselves and the general public. Rarely are internal and external benefits so close together as in the protection of biodiversity. And what about politics? It should set the right incentives so that action here becomes simple and favourable and thus (once again) normal.

Further information

UFZ press office

Susanne Hufe
Phone: +49 341 6025-1630
presse@ufz.de