Sustainability and Biodiversity

Extraordinary rates of biodiversity loss, coupled with rising human population and consumption rates, threaten the sustainability of Earth's life support systems. An inclusive wealth framework that considers the current and future stocks and flows of human and Earth system assets, including biodiversity, provides one means of examining progress toward sustainability. Successful efforts to meet the needs of current and future generations will require a global perspective that considers the complex relationships between biodiversity, poverty, and equity as well as a temporal perspective that considers the nonlinear dynamics and potential tipping points in human and Earth systems.

Duke Scholars

Author James Brendan Heffernan Environmental Sciences and Policy