By Dr Sarah Papworth, Department of Biological Sciences
Relevant United Nations’ SDG goals:
“The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.”
― Sir David Attenborough
Today is Biodiversity Day at COP27. Participants will be discussing the links between climate change and biodiversity, and how policy-makers can implement nature based solutions for climate mitigation. But what is biodiversity and how is it linked to climate change?
Biological diversity, or biodiversity, is all of life on earth; from the tiniest bacteria to all the birds in our skies. We rely on biodiversity for the food we eat and even for the oxygen we breathe. We are rapidly losing this biodiversity, and climate change plays a part in this.
The Bramble Cay melomys, a small rodent which was only found in the Torres Strait, Australia, was declared extinct in 2016 after the tiny island it lived on was eroded by sea level rise and storm surges linked to climate change.
The effects of climate on biodiversity can create a negative cycle, as the diverse life on earth provides climate solutions. More diverse habitats are more resilient to the effects of climate change, and conserving or restoring terrestrial and aquatic habitats can store carbon from the atmosphere.
Mangroves can help reduce the impacts of sea-level rise and storm surges in coastal areas, and woodlands in upland catchments can reduce downstream flooding. Protecting mangroves and woodlands are examples of nature-based solutions for mitigating climate change.
There is also a role for new biological discoveries. For example, there are over 50 species which can eat plastic. By studying the saliva of one of these, the wax worm larvae, researchers identified two enzymes which can break down polyethylene, potentially contributing to the safe disposal of plastics.
The mangroves and larvae described above can be part of the climate solution, and there are many more species out there which have similar benefits we just don’t know about yet. Biodiversity includes the tens of thousands of different plants and insects which are at real risk of extinction, but these are often overlooked when it comes to public support, as more attention is often given to “iconic species” such as polar bears, whales and tigers.
My research focuses on the way we interact with the natural world – why do we care about some species more than others, and how can we encourage people to support biodiversity conservation?
People seem most attracted to large, furry animals, like tigers. But that doesn’t mean we can’t encourage support for other species. With Polly Curtin, I conducted an online study which showed that people prioritised small, declining populations and species with positive benefits for humans when deciding what to conserve. This suggests we can shift attention to ‘less-loved’ species, provided people know enough about how we are impacting their population, and how we can benefit from their conservation.
One possible approach to create those links in our increasingly urban and digital society, is through augmented reality. With colleagues, I evaluated a recent augmented reality experience in central London based on the BBC Green Planet series, and hosted by a virtual Sir David Attenborough. After walking through six biomes about plants and the species who rely on them, visitors showed greater support for plant conservation.
The next stage is to link support for biodiversity conservation and climate solutions to real action. What motivates people to act, and how can we encourage this? Every positive action we make to support biodiversity can be part of the climate solution, so it's great to see this being explored explicitly in COP27.