Past and ongoing rapid declines in biodiversity, ecosystem functions and many of nature’s contributions to people mean that most international societal and environmental goals will not be achieved based on current trajectories. It is estimated that the current negative trends in biodiversity and ecosystems will undermine progress towards 80 per cent (33 out of 44) of the Sustainable Development Goals targets related to poverty, hunger, health, water, cities, climate, oceans and land.
There is therefore a need for rapid and improved deployment of existing policy instruments and new initiatives to harmonize individual and collective action across sectors more effectively for transformative change. The approach of transformation toward sustainability will vary across countries depending on their unique challenges and needs. BES-Net supports countries in envisioning the transformation pathways and identifying and adopting actions based on the best available scientific knowledge and the rich knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities.
