A Framework for solving the extinction crisis
The extinction crisis is urgent and it is critical that we focus efforts on solutions that will have the greatest effect on reducing the pressures that lead to biodiversity loss. Conservation needs an evidenced-based, and solutions-oriented analysis of what interventions will have the greatest impact on extinction and then prioritize bringing them to scale to achieve the most significant impact. In response to this crisis, we are launching a new project: Extinction Solutions Index.
The Challenge
68% of mammal, bird, amphibian, reptile, and fish populations have declined since the 1970s (WWF Living Planet Report, 2020) , drivers of biodiversity loss have worsened (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2020) , and 1 million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction in the coming decades (IPBES, 2019) . This impending extinction event – the sixth mass extinction – is the first time that species loss at an impact akin to geological forces is created by a single species: us.
Humans are driving the sixth mass extinction. Humans have the power to reverse it.
A program to evaluate, compare, and rank the most effective and efficient solutions to the biodiversity crisis.
The Approach
evaluate the impact
Without an approach to evaluate the full gamut of solutions and their effectiveness, conservation will continue to invest in business-as-usual approaches that fail to reverse biodiversity loss.
build the coalition
That’s why we’re building a coalition of partners to join us in this effort, including those with experience in impact evaluation, solution-searching, data analysis, and model development.
create the roadmap
We’ll compile the most impactful global interventions needed to match the speed and scale of the extinction crisis. Inspired by Project Drawdown’s framework for Climate Solutions, this collection will provide a roadmap for preventing the sixth mass extinction.
Join the effort
Our work begins by forming strategic partnerships, evaluating the threats species face, and understanding the mechanisms behind extinction drivers to find synergies across disciplines and understand how innovations can prevent extinction.
In collaboration with
Project Drawdown, researchers at the University of Oxford, Re:wild, and the Green Status of Species
