logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2022
13m 22s

How much of our biodiversity is at risk?

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Another global summit - COP15 – has concluded in Canada.

It focused on biodiversity, which is the variety of all living things on earth.

Activists, charities and ministers came together hoping to find solutions to protect and save forests, wetlands and water bodies before it’s too late.

Recent studies have suggested that nearly a third of all species are currently endangered due to human activities such as logging, climate change and farming.

And scientists are warning that the biodiversity clock is ticking in Africa and around the world, putting human life and wildlife at risk.

So how bad is the situation and what needs to be done to protect biodiversity?

Alan Kasujja speaks to the BBC World Service Environment correspondent, Navin Singh Khadka.

Up next
Aug 22
Focus on Africa: Exploring Africa-Japan trade ties
Japan has pledged to work more closely with African countries at global summit on economic development. How can Africa benefit from stronger ties with Japan?The former prime minister of Chad is facing a 20-year prison term after being convicted of hate speech, xenophobia and havi ... Show More
32m 3s
Aug 20
Focus on Africa: Increased concerns over missing Ethiopia journalists
Two prominent journalists in Ethiopia, Abdulsemed Mohammed and Yonas Amare, have been missing for more than a week after being abducted by what reports say, were men wearing masks and military uniforms. There has been no news about their whereabouts but their disappearances have ... Show More
27m 44s
Aug 15
Focus on Africa: Nigeria negotiates $346m arms deal with US
The US government has approved a $346m arms deal with Nigeria which would include munitions, precision bombs and precision rockets. What is behind the change in a decade-long US policy about selling certain kinds of weapons to Nigeria?The mining of gold has been a key driver of S ... Show More
33m 14s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
Consider the Burying Beetle. (Or Else.)
The current level of biodiversity loss is extraordinary in human history: The global rate of species extinction is at least tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the past 10 million years. At the end of 2022, countries around the world came together in Montreal f ... Show More
25m 43s
Dec 2022
How much does biodiversity matter to climate change?
The ecosystems of the land and ocean absorb around half our planet warming emissions. But these are being destroyed by human activity. At the same time, climate change is a primary driver of the destruction of these habitats and biodiversity loss. If biodiversity is our strongest ... Show More
27m 51s
Apr 2023
High hopes for biodiversity, but who will pay?
The world is in the middle of the sixth mass extinction and this time it's being driven by human activity. Slowing it down will provide benefits for tackling climate change, and solutions to reign in global warming will help stem biodiversity loss. But this win-win scenario isn't ... Show More
34m 16s
Jan 2023
Game changers
Nations are racing to protect 30% of the planet by 2030 in an attempt to halt biodiversity loss, but one novel approach may be able to safeguard species under threat of imminent extinction. Vic visited Nature’s Safe in May, a cryogenic biobank, storing the genetic information of ... Show More
28m 18s
Oct 2021
Climate: Animals under threat
The changing planet is threatening a number of vulnerable and endangered species, and host Nuala McGovern hears from three experts on polar bears, snow leopards and bumble bees on why we should all care about what is happening to all animals. We learn about the importance of poll ... Show More
23m 46s
Sep 2022
100 days until Cop15: what next to save nature?
It is now less than 100 days until Cop15, the UN convention on biological diversity. At these talks, which are taking place in Montreal, Canada in December, governments from around the world will come together to agree targets aimed at halting the destruction of the natural world ... Show More
13m 46s
Sep 2021
Jaws made us scared of sharks but is a lack of sharks scarier?
Last week, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) world conservation congress took place in Marseille. Guardian biodiversity reporter Phoebe Weston was there and heard about the latest updated ‘red list’ of threatened species, which included a warning that ... Show More
12m 44s