Biodiversity

Articles

Several cows stand in shallow water, a dog runs along the shore, and an old wooden boat lies in front.

On nature that benefits from humans and farming

Published: 21 October 2025

An agroecological approach to preserve biodiversity in agricultural landscapes should draw on both scientific and local traditional knowledge. This article focuses on changes in the hay management regime in the extensive wetlands of Biebrza National Park in Poland.

Joanna Sucholas

CBD COP16: Wins and losses for biodiversity and peoples, unfinished business on implementation

Published: 19 November 2024

Commentary

The sixteenth UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, faced significant challenges and ran overtime due to disagreements between developing and developed countries. A resumed meeting will be required to address these unfinished issues.

Mirna Inés Fernández

Eine Gruppe jubelnder Menschen in einem Saal, einige mit erhobenen Fäusten. Sie lachen und wirken freudig vereint

After the COP16 Biodiversity Conference in Colombia: What remains and what comes next

Published: 14 November 2024

Commentary

The UN Conference on Biological Diversity (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, ended in early November with important resolutions, but no agreement on the key issue of financing biodiversity conservation.

Evelyn Hartig

Rede von Susana Muhamad, kolumbianische Umweltministerin, bei der Eröffnung der 16. UN-Biodiversitätskonferenz (COP16) in Cali, Kolumbien, vor einer großen Leinwand mit Konferenzdetails sowie den Flaggen Kolumbiens und der UN.

Dossiers

Photo: A person holding a dried plant and carefully extracting onion seeds into their palm. Crops, possibly cabbage, are visible in the background.

Agroecology: Our Roots of Change

Published: 20 January 2025

Dossier

Agroecology is increasingly recognized as a powerful response to today’s interlinked crises - environmental degradation, climate change, and deepening social inequalities. This dossier explores how agroecology redefines food systems and promotes people’s agency.

Biodiversity

Published: 24 November 2015

Dossier

Synthetic Biology describes a set of new genetic techniques for designing and engineering lifeforms for industrial purposes. So far, there is neither a public debate worth mentioning nor any regulation by law. Our dossier looks at the risks Synthetic Biology poses for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Publications

World map with illustrated animals and plants on peatlands, incl. bird, frog, dragonfly, cow, reeds, and leaves.

Peatland Atlas 2023

Published: 13 November 2025

Atlas

The Peatland Atlas highlights the consequences of the destruction of these unique habitats and shows the opportunities of wet peatlands and their use for society in order to encourage all actors to take action.

Water Atlas 2025

Published: 5 November 2025

Atlas

The Water Atlas presents the complexity and urgency of global water issues in a visually compelling, accessible format - from the unequal distribution of water and industrial pollution to climate-linked water insecurity and geopolitical tensions.

Resilient Agriculture on the African Continent: The Proof will be in the Soil

Published: 6 May 2024

E-Paper

Africa must find pathways to provide a better life for its people, including access to healthy and sustainably produced food. This policy paper takes a closer look at the role of synthetic fertilizers in African food systems.

Sharing life. The Ecopolitics of Reciprocity

Published: 14 April 2021

Book/E-Book

Evolving around the main essay “Sharing life. The Ecopolitics of Reciprocity”, all contributions to this assemblage reflect a common understanding that ecology and biodiversity needs to be reclaimed – and constantly generated – as a process of lived and living realities in a system of reciprocal relationships.

Andreas Weber, Aküm Longchari, Ash Narain Roy, Bhagat Oinam, Daniel Langthasa, Jayanta Kumar Sarma, Dr Kaustubh Deka, Linda Chhakchhuak, Meghna Singh, Shrishtee Bajpai, Sonal Jain, Uttam Bathari