Biodiversity is the living fabric of our planet. The term covers all natural environments and life forms (plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, etc.) and their interactions. It has three interdependent levels:

1. the diversity of living environments at all scales: from oceans, meadows, forests, etc. to the content of cells (think of the parasites that can live there), including the pond at the bottom of your garden, or the green spaces in the city.

2. the diversity of species (including humans) that live in these environments;

3. the genetic diversity of individuals within each species: in other words, we are all different!
    

Biodiversity at the heart of our lives

Biodiversity offers irreplaceable and essential goods for our daily lives. The oxygen we breathe, our food and the water we consume, medicines or even many raw materials that we use to house or clothe ourselves (wood, fibers such as wool, cotton, hemp, etc.) ... All of this is provided to us by nature.

When they are in good health, natural environments and species also provide us with invaluable services, for example:

• peatlands, forests and even the oceans sequester carbon and thus help fight climate change;

• pollination, soil fertility… certain species, in particular insects, allow us to have fruits and vegetables on our plates;

• plants, especially in wetlands, contribute to natural water purification;

• wetlands protect the coastline against erosion, and mitigate the intensity of natural hazards such as floods and floods;

Natural environments and green spaces in cities structure our landscapes and are essential to our well-being.

Biodiversity is degrading around the world​ 75% of terrestrial environments and 40% of marine ecosystems are severely degraded! This is the alarming observation shared by international experts. One million species are threatened with extinction around the world. The rate of disappearance is 100 to 1000 times greater than the natural rate of extinction: we are talking about a sixth mass extinction of species. This degradation of biodiversity is largely the consequence of our human activities, which exert major pressures on nature.

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