Biodiversity – the basis for our livelihoods

Forests, grasslands, peatlands, lakes and rivers, as well as oceans and coasts are much more than just habitats for animals and plants. Healthy ecosystems provide us with food, clean water, raw materials and fertile soils. They protect us against flooding and soil erosion and are part of the solution in dealing with climate change – they store carbon, regulate temperatures and the water cycle and help us adapt to climate change.  

Nature under pressure: what biodiversity loss means for us

Globally, biodiversity and ecosystems are under pressure. As habitats are destroyed and biodiversity diminishes, important ecosystem services are lost, jeopardizing development opportunities and prosperity in Germany and worldwide.

The main drivers of biodiversity loss are changes in land and sea use and the destruction of natural habitats, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, climate change, and invasive alien species.  Unfavorable political framework conditions and economic incentives make the short-term exploitation of natural resources more profitable than their long-term conservation and restoration. 

The international community is therefore faced with the challenge of reconciling socially just economic development with the conservation of nature and natural resources on which livelihoods depend. 

From policy to practice 

We support our partner countries in implementing these goals and targets. We offer advisory services to update and enhance the implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and for tapping public and private sources of biodiversity financing. We support public authorities and non-state actors from the private sector, science and civil society, especially Indigenous Peoples and local communities, to work together to conserve and restore their ecosystems.

We support governments in planning their protected area systems and selected terrestrial and marine protected areas together with the local population and in managing them effectively and equitably. In doing so, we pursue a development-orientated and human rights-based approach.

We promote biodiversity-friendly and climate-resilient development in rural areas – for example through agroecological farming methods, agroforestry systems, sustainable forestry and fisheries as well as the conservation and utilization of traditional, resilient crop varieties and animal breeds.  
Where terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems such as forest landscapes, peatlands or mangroves, are already degraded and ecosystem services declining, we work with our partners to restore them using holistic landscape approaches.

We also promote biodiversity conservation in cities – for example through green infrastructure, community garden projects and nature-based solutions for adaptation to climate change.  

Our measures:

• We promote dialogue and cooperation between policy-makers and the private sector at all levels – from international and national to local – so that solutions can be developed and implemented on a joint basis.
• We provide support in setting up and managing multi-stakeholder partnerships and platforms to strengthen cooperation between the state, civil society, the private sector and the scientific and academic community.
• We provide support in developing and implementing awareness-raising and public relations measures that systematically take account of and embed the multiple values of biodiversity and nature in politics and society. 
• Together with companies that aim at using natural resources sustainably and reducing their ecological footprint, we promote inclusive and biodiversity friendly value and supply chains.
• We are also working with experts from the world of finance on innovative approaches to create incentives and financing mechanisms for the conservation of biodiversity - in a way that also benefits Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

From policy to practice 

We support our partner countries in implementing these goals and targets. We offer advisory services to update and enhance the implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and for tapping public and private sources of biodiversity financing. We support public authorities and non-state actors from the private sector, science and civil society, especially Indigenous Peoples and local communities, to work together to conserve and restore their ecosystems.

We support governments in planning their protected area systems and selected terrestrial and marine protected areas together with the local population and in managing them effectively and equitably. In doing so, we pursue a development-orientated and human rights-based approach.

We promote biodiversity-friendly and climate-resilient development in rural areas – for example through agroecological farming methods, agroforestry systems, sustainable forestry and fisheries as well as the conservation and utilization of traditional, resilient crop varieties and animal breeds.  
Where terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems such as forest landscapes, peatlands or mangroves, are already degraded and ecosystem services declining, we work with our partners to restore them using holistic landscape approaches.

We also promote biodiversity conservation in cities – for example through green infrastructure, community garden projects and nature-based solutions for adaptation to climate change.  

Our measures:

• We promote dialogue and cooperation between policy-makers and the private sector at all levels – from international and national to local – so that solutions can be developed and implemented on a joint basis.
• We provide support in setting up and managing multi-stakeholder partnerships and platforms to strengthen cooperation between the state, civil society, the private sector and the scientific and academic community.
• We provide support in developing and implementing awareness-raising and public relations measures that systematically take account of and embed the multiple values of biodiversity and nature in politics and society. 
• Together with companies that aim at using natural resources sustainably and reducing their ecological footprint, we promote inclusive and biodiversity friendly value and supply chains.
• We are also working with experts from the world of finance on innovative approaches to create incentives and financing mechanisms for the conservation of biodiversity - in a way that also benefits Indigenous Peoples and local communities.