The Oxford Martin Programme on Biodiversity and Society
There is growing recognition that biodiversity loss and climate change crises are intertwined, with both rooted in the degradation of the natural world. Recent research starkly highlights the need for rapid systemic change, and outlines pathways towards a sustainable future. If nature is to be restored and protected, conservation action needs to be supplemented and indeed enabled by rapid shifts towards sustainable supply chains. Pertinent to reducing future pandemic risk, over half of emerging human infectious diseases are linked to land conversion for agriculture, and anthropogenic changes to ecosystems are key drivers of zoonotic disease risk.
The Oxford Martin Programme on Biodiversity and Society aims to harness this recognition, and the drive to ‘build back better’ from the COVID-19 pandemic, to support systemic change towards a more sustainable relationship between humanity and our planet, and to mobilise financial resources at scale for its protection and recovery.
Drawing expertise from across the University in ecology, finance and economics, social sciences, human wellbeing, cultural values, AI, machine learning, satellite-based monitoring, and other disciplines and by working closely with stakeholders the programme aims to address wide-ranging challenges to move towards stemming the tide of biodiversity loss, and developing opportunities for biodiversity recovery, globally.
The programme will be implemented at scales from local to global, working with collaborators in business and in government.
