Think of all the different species and places on our planet as threads in a net. The more threads that intertwine, the stronger the net – and the better nature can provide for us and cope with threats such as climate change. 

Unfortunately, people have been unpicking the safety net for decades. We’ve flattened forests to make way for agriculture, infrastructure, or simply to take the wood. We’ve netted fish until their numbers collapse. Our Mediterranean is the sea with the most depleted fish stocks in the world. And we’ve destroyed waterways for navigation, river regulation and agriculture, providing the conditions for floods and other disasters. 

The good news is that for the first time in human history we understand the impact we're having on the natural world that we love and depend on − and we know how we can start to mend the net. There is still time to reverse this loss of nature. But we need to act now or face catastrophic change.

The huge variety of animals and plants, and the places they live, is called biodiversity. It provides us with essentials like food, drinking water, clean air, medicines and shelter.

2020 will see a historic moment when world leaders will take key decisions on the environment, climate and sustainable development. These decisions will set the agenda for the next decade.

Together, we can influence these global decisions and send a message that it's no longer acceptable to destroy our natural world – and that we can take a different, better path. 

Put simply, we need governments to commit to halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030, and restoring nature to more sustainable levels by 2050. We need a new deal for nature and people.