The condition of our home dictates how much food there is to eat. Today, nearly 1 billion people are without enough food — and food demand is predicted to double by 2050. The global agricultural industry is responsible for 80 percent of deforestation each year as well as the consumption of 70 percent of Earth’s available fresh water. To feed our growing population, we have to find sustainable ways to utilize our natural resources.
Access to drinkable water is a human right that too many are being denied. More than than 99 percent of fresh water on Earth is not readily available for human consumption. The United Nations estimates that half the global population will face water stress in the next 15 years. With just 30 percent of available fresh water diverted away from the agricultural sector, it is more important than ever to strengthen our freshwater ecosystems to avoid water scarcity. Unfortunately, six out of 10 lakes in the U.S. are already too polluted for fishing or swimming.
Nature provides livelihoods in every region of the world — but often at a high cost to the planet. The fishing industry generates hundreds of millions of jobs, yet unregulated and illegal fishing practices haul in 11 million tons of fish each year. As a result, nearly one in three of the world’s fisheries are overexploited or depleted. Similarly, forest products in developing economies frequently make up 20 percent to 40 percent of a family’s annual income. But US$ 11 billion in illegal logging revenue is going to organized crime groups every year in areas including the Amazon — placing local ecosystems in harm’s way.
Conservation International finds innovative and effective methods for protecting the one home we have. By collaborating with a broad range of partners — from the executive boardroom to the village square — we’re protecting the Earth’s “natural capital” — the essential ecosystems that provide the most benefits to humans — to create a more sustainable future.
Covering more than 320 million acres, the marine park in New Caledonia is twice the size of Texas, three times the size of Germany and much larger than any other protected area on the planet.
The world’s national parks are being quietly chipped away, restructured and modified — and no one seems to be talking about it.
