Is global biodiversity really in freefall – and what can we do about it?
In this opening address at the annual RGS Explore Weekend in November 2023, renowned conservation biologist Dr James Borrell discusses the current state of biodiversity in our world and the conservation efforts to protect it. Whilst our current situation may look bleak, James assures us that all is not lost.
What does this talk cover?
Are Florida Key sports fishing catches getting noticeably smaller? Are animals going extinct at an alarming rate? They are. But James, who has more than 15 years of experience of conservation research and fieldwork experience from the UK to Madagascar, Oman and beyond, discusses how we can do our part to bend the curve of biodiversity loss back to an upward trend.
From giant ground sloths to 414lb sturgeons caught in the River Severn, James takes us on an eye-opening journey of what our biodiversity was in the past, what it has become, and – with your help – where we can take it.
As James says: if not you, then who?
Key moments
- 00:30 – Sports fishing in the Florida Keys
- 01:35 – Why are the fish getting smaller?
- 01:48 – Introducing marine biologist, Daniel Pauly
- 02:50 – A 414lb sturgeon in the River Severn
- 03:30 – The Living Planet Index, one of our most important global indicators
- 04:25 – Global headlines: make for grim reading
- 05:13 – Species are going extinct at an alarming rate
- 07:40 – Why did all this happen? Likely because of humans
- 08:15 – Human expansion over the last 100,000 years
- 09:00 – The global trend of megafauna loss
- 09:34 – The Pyramid of Djoser and the traces of ancient lifeforms.
- 10:05 – David Attenborough’s egg and an Irish elk
- 11:02 – Giant ground sloth
- 11:50 – A more accurate baseline for species extinction
- 12:25 – Bending the curve of biodiversity loss
- 13:16 – Human impacts: biodiversity loss, climate change and population growth
- 14:00 – Conservation is a luxury
- 14:30 – Is it too bleak? Can we change the trend?
- 16:47 – What we do now will change the world for millennia
- 18:20 – People will only remember three words of your talk. What are they?
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