The biosphere sustains all life on Earth but is extremely small relative to the planet, as WWF Germany’s Christoph Heinrich explains in his evocative DLD Circular presentation.
“The biosphere is so tiny that if we shrink the planet to the size of a desk globe, the biosphere wouldn’t be visible.”
A key characteristic of the biosphere is the concept of circularity. “There’s not a single molecule that gets lost”, Heinrich says. “And to keep this circle running, that is what nature conservation is all about.”
But human activity like deforestation has caused accelerated biodiversity loss, especially in the tropics. Studies show that animal populations have declined by 70 percent since 1970.
The World Economic Forum considers biodiversity loss fundamental risk because losing biodiversity means losing ecosystem services like water resources, genetic information, and natural resilience.
“You can see all the forest fires”, Heinrich says, showing images of burning rainforests. “I compare this to the famous fire of the library of Alexandria. What we see burning here is the memory of the planet.”
To help companies and investors assess the risk of biodiversity loss, WWF created the Biodiversity Risk Filter. The tool, which is freely available online, aims to help companies prepare for likely regulations, minimize risks, and find new opportunities.
