Biodiversity: Experts discuss the challenges and joys of preserving a thriving future for all

As the sun sets in a park, a small group of bugs cast golden light as they float through the air. A dog bursts through a patch of grass in hunt of a ball. Across the globe, a group of fish weave through coral reef structures while small sea anemones sway with the current. All of these creatures may be vastly different in appearance, but they share one crucial thing: their home.

Our planet is home to countless life forms, each of which participates in Earth’s life-supporting systems. These lives range from a single bacterium all the way up to the largest known animal in existence, the blue whale. This variance is commonly referred to as biodiversity. In this conversation, Sharon Jae Hall, Leah Gerber and Nico Franz Leah Gerber discuss some of the most pressing threats to biodiversity, how to empower future changemakers and how they remain hopeful at a time of increasing extinction rates.

Sharon Jae Hall is a President’s Professor and the associate dean of Arizona State University’s College of Global Futures. She is a conservation scientist who explores the ecology of native and managed ecosystems that sustain people and other organisms within the community of life. To achieve these goals, Hall and her research team focus on understanding and improving the interwoven feedback between people and nature.

Leah Gerber is a professor of conservation science in the School of Life Sciences and founding director of the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes at ASU. Gerber’s research, teaching and leadership advance the integration of science in decision processes to achieve sustainable biodiversity outcomes.

Nico Franz is a Virginia M. Ullman Professor of Ecology and principal investigator of the NEON Biorepository and the iDigBio Symbiota Support Hub, which sustains more than 2,000 collections and 90 million global occurrence records. He serves as curator of insects and directs the ASU Biocollections and Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center.

What does biodiversity mean?

Gerber: Biodiversity is the variety of living species on Earth – plants, animals and microorganisms –and the ecosystems they form. An ecosystem is the name given to all species that live together in a stable community, interacting with one another and their physical environment. Biodiversity includes the diversity within species and between different species within terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Ecosystems need a balanced and diverse number of species to thrive.

Why is it important to study biodiversity and what do you hope to accomplish?

Hall: I think about biodiversity as supporting the services that nature provides for people, but also species and ecosystems are important and have value in their own right. In other words, nonhuman species have intrinsic value, irrespective of humanity. The priorities of my research and professional life are to protect nature’s diversity and improve the relationship that people have with nature so they can see how it benefits all of us. My goal is to acknowledge and expand people’s perception about the intrinsic value of ecosystems, even outside of the human sphere.

Gerber: One thing that I think is really important in contemplating biodiversity is that the interactions and processes are equally important as the individual entities like genes and species, so it’s sort of like a puzzle. Biodiversity is important because if you remove one piece of the puzzle, we risk system collapse.

I also think what Sharon just highlighted is really important. My professional training is in conservation science, and the discipline itself is a goal oriented discipline to protect biodiversity. We’ve been talking a lot about the extent to which the discipline has succeeded in achieving the goal. And, you know, some might argue that we haven’t been very successful. The extinction rate has never been higher. And so I think Sharon’s insights regarding changing our mindset and engaging people in this goal are crucial.

At the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, part of our goal is “mainstreaming” biodiversity. This includes bringing data, metrics and tools on biodiversity into the business sector and working with governments and thinking about protecting biodiversity as sort of an essential solution, not a problem.

Franz: I’ll also add that the problems we see come up that relate to biodiversity are not primarily “in the forest.” They have to do with economics. When environmental or biodiversity concerns and issues and aspirations are not foregrounded, it’s because there are other very, very strong economic interests that take precedence. Natural resources are also a commodity. I think the more biologically focused sectors of academia are evolving and training ourselves in order to hopefully be more effective in our own work to connect with others who are working within that “commodity” mindset.

Gerber: And that’s the tricky part, I think. Biodiversity is like art: It makes our lives better, but commodifying it is incredibly difficult. It’s hard to put a dollar sign on nature, but we see it all the time. Trying to solve the biodiversity crisis by putting a price on nature is addressing the problem based on the very root cause of the problem. In other words, we need a transformation in our social and economic systems that properly mainstreams biodiversity. These ways of commodifying it will never work because they are the things that have led to a decline of nature.

Why is biodiversity in crisis right now?

Hall: On the topic of a decline of nature and biodiversity, climate change and warming often come up in these kinds of conversations. Obviously these things are enormous threats that affect the entire planet and conditions under which humanity has thrived over the last many millennia. But for much of the biodiversity crisis, it’s important to understand that climate has always shifted through time, and species have, in a lot of cases, adapted and moved.

The reason we are in such a biodiversity crisis situation now is primarily because human-led land cover and land use change has degraded — and in many cases consumed — the homes of Earth’s sensitive species. Now, a changing climate poses a bigger threat, not only to species on land but also in the oceans, lakes and rivers.

The changes we are seeing now are happening much more rapidly than they have in the past, and humanity has narrowed where native species can thrive to a set of fragmented places. There’s a reason why sensitive species are in decline; it’s because we’ve really restricted the places where they can live and function.

Gerber: The data shows there are five major threats to biodiversity: pollution, habitat loss, overexploitation of species, invasive species and climate change. Recent data suggest that land use change (primarily agriculture) represents the largest driver to biodiversity loss. My PhD research focused on marine mammal conservation, so lately I’ve been joking — “How on Earth did I get from whales to agriculture?” The answer is that my research focus has shifted to focus on the most pressing challenges to addressing the extinction crisis.

How can we mitigate these issues?

Gerber: Looking to the future, we need to gear solutions toward finding ways that allow biodiversity to persist while also ensuring food security through sustainable agriculture. Identifying economic alternatives for local communities is essential. For example, in the agriculture sector, we’re working in Latin America to find alternatives to deforestation to have revenue from the timber products. Agroforestry is a very viable solution in that case, because it allows biodiversity to thrive.

Franz: And that ties in to the question that we naturally ask ourselves. What role can we play as academics? We don’t control land use or resource use at the kind of scale that other segments of society do. So I think part of the work and part of the mandate for Global Futures at ASU is to become more knowledgeable and effective in these non-academic sectors of the economy and of society and of policymaking, where things actually get moved.

Gerber: I think we do have a unique position in terms of thought leadership and bringing methods and tools and best available data to these discussions. For example, a company might hire a consultant to do an analysis, but it may not be the most rigorous way of approaching a problem. I think there’s a role for academia in setting the standard of what is rigorous and defensible. This credibility is also relevant in governmental and non-governmental sectors.

Hall: In the academic space, we are also helping to grow the next generation of independent and critical thinkers, and Earth’s stewards. We can help students learn about the life-supporting role of biodiversity, but also influence the next generation to act on their civic responsibilities and empower them to shape outcomes. We need to be out there giving the best available science and data to decision-makers, yes, but we also have to talk to everyday people about what’s happening to biodiversity and ecosystems both within and beyond their towns and cities. We shouldn’t only talk to conservation students, but younger people and other lifelong learners. The biodiversity crisis is urgent, but course-correcting is also totally doable by shifting human behaviors and activity.

I know that lots of folks talk about hope — and it can seem kind of abstract, but I think we’re in a time where there’s a lot of anxiety about what is happening in the future. Talking about the future in terms of what each of us can do gives the learners some tools, some pathways and some models of how this can work. I think that’ll go a long way to changing things faster than what’s been possible in my generation. We’ve been making incremental progress towards protecting native ecosystems and biodiversity — thank goodness — but it’s still incremental. We need a sea change, and it needs to happen faster and bigger than it has before. I’m hoping this is where the Global Futures Laboratory is uniquely positioned to provide a model for other colleges and universities.

On the topic of hope and sharing that hope with future changemakers, how do you stay hopeful in this space?

Hall: When I read the news, I see a lot of negative stories out there. But there are so many positive things happening too, if you are looking. There are some really amazing success stories in ecosystem restoration and biodiversity protection, but a lot of times the positive stories just don’t get as much attention. For every story that gives me some anxiety about the future, there is another one I find that gives me hope.

I’ve been inspired by communities around the world where people are devoting their lives to saving and improving the livelihoods of the ecosystems that are around them — sometimes just for its own intrinsic value. Some of these communities that have prioritized this work have fewer resources than we can imagine in this country. But they are doing the work. That is just extraordinarily humbling.

ASU has a platform to shine a light on the incredible work that people are doing and show them that they’re connected to each other. There’s a whole global community of people who are fighting to protect and restore forests and rivers and grasslands and oceans. I think our students don’t see this as often as they should because there are so many negative stories out there about the future. I promise that if you look for the positive, you can find it.

Franz: I think of nature as a very connecting thing. That gives me a sense of hope. We are all connected in some way — regardless of our backgrounds or belief systems or spirituality — connected through nature. That motivates people. People of very different backgrounds or even positions in their society do feel a desire to do their part to honor the connection that we have with nature.

Gerber: I think what gives me the hope to continue working on averting the biodiversity crisis is the students who are so full of determination, drive, passion and enthusiasm. These future leaders are really doing embedded work around the world. I am inspired by the collective energy and commitment that this community of scholars brings to addressing conservation challenges around the world. Collectively, we are taking steps toward achieving transformative change.

What would you tell the current and incoming students who are interested in being part of that work?

Franz: I can say that personally, I think my work is fun. And ideally, it should be. I find that keeping a good sense of humor is important. It is a really good way to find common ground with people. Conversations about biodiversity and barriers to conservation sometimes end up being a conflict that is centered around power and who has the power to control resources. When used correctly, humor can be a great way to navigate difficult conversations about power. It can bring in people who might not have been interested otherwise.

Gerber: I would tell them to approach conservation from a perspective of being very humble and open to listening and learning. I think one of the problems we see is a very Western society-minded, “we know the answer” approach to local problem-solving. That is really a misguided notion; I think we have much to learn from local communities around the world. I think those insights can really help inform a more successful future. We could do a better job being humble and listening to a diverse set of actors in this area.

I would add that it is important to get deep expertise in all ranges of disciplines within conservation, but we also need to be able to communicate that expertise broadly. I’ve invested a lot in communication and leadership training because I think that being a good scientist is a start, but that alone is just not enough. Taking a solution from science to action is crucial, and that’s where that extra training comes in.

Hall: I think that conservation science can be a job, but for many of us, it’s also a passion. It’s a lifelong passion. We as a group need to keep our batteries full, because we can’t inspire change in others if we aren’t inspired ourselves. Many of us — and I hear this from students as well — are the only ones in our families who feel as passionately about the “nonhuman world” as we do. That can feel isolating. I think it’s important for students to know that they aren’t alone; there is a whole community of likeminded people who also value the preservation of the wild and the creatures that live there.

The last thing that I say to students is: go explore the world. Get out of your comfort zone and go see the color and the places and the complexity of our planet. Keep that sense of awe, because the world we live in is mind-blowing. It is so incredible and inspiring to see the diversity of people and their cultures and the ecosystems that sustain them. I think once we get out there and see that, it puts everything into perspective and keeps those batteries full for the long run.