Diversity (Aug 2022)

Addressing the Biodiversity Paradox: Mismatch between the Co-Occurrence of Biological Diversity and the Human, Financial and Institutional Resources to Address Its Decline

  • Jon Paul Rodríguez,
  • Bibiana Sucre,
  • Kira Mileham,
  • Ada Sánchez-Mercado,
  • Nahomy De Andrade,
  • Simeon Bezeng Bezeng,
  • Carmel Croukamp,
  • João Falcato,
  • Pablo García-Borboroglu,
  • Susana González,
  • Paula González-Ciccia,
  • José F. González-Maya,
  • Lucy Kemp,
  • Mirza D. Kusrini,
  • Cristina Lopez-Gallego,
  • Sonja Luz,
  • Vivek Menon,
  • Patricia D. Moehlman,
  • Domitilla C. Raimondo,
  • Claudio Sillero-Zubiri,
  • William Street,
  • Amanda Vincent,
  • Yan Xie

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/d14090708
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 9
p. 708

Abstract

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Pressures are mounting for the adoption of a Global Biodiversity Framework that transforms conservation and sustainable use efforts worldwide. Underlying this challenge is the biodiversity paradox: biological diversity predominantly concentrates in the tropics, while human, institutional, and financial resources are primarily located at higher latitudes both north and south. Addressing the biodiversity paradox requires the expansion and mobilization of human, institutional and financial resources around the world. We outline a model championed by the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) that builds on the Species Conservation Cycle (Assess-Plan-Act-Network-Communicate) and recognizes that most conservation action occurs at the national or local level. Various strategies are applied to this end by the partners of Reverse the Red, a global movement that ignites strategic cooperation and science-based action to ensure the survival of wild species and ecosystems. The SSC contributes to Reverse the Red through two primary strategies: National Species Specialist Groups and Centers for Species Survival. By building on existing expert networks and catalyzing efforts with established local institutions, we aim to significantly expand capacity to implement conservation action at the national level and reverse the negative trends indicated by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the Red List of Ecosystems.

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