Bending the curve of terrestrial biodiversity needs an integrated strategy Summary paragraph Increased efforts are required to prevent further losses of terrestrial biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides 1,2. Ambitious targets have been proposed, such as reversing the declining trends in biodiversity 3-yet, just feeding the growing human population will make this a challenge 4. We use an ensemble of land-use and biodiversity models to assess whether (and if so, how) humanity can reverse terrestrial biodiversity declines due to habitat conversion, a major threat to biodiversity 5. We show that immediate efforts, consistent with the broader sustainability agenda but of unprecedented ambition and coordination, may allow to feed the growing human population while reversing global terrestrial biodiversity trends from habitat conversion. If we decide to increase the extent of land under conservation management, restore degraded land, and generalize landscapelevel conservation planning, biodiversity trends from habitat conversion could become positive by mid-century on average across models (confidence interval: 2042-2061), but not for all models. Food prices could increase and, on average across models, almost half (confidence interval: 34-50%) of future biodiversity losses could not be avoided. However, additionally tackling the drivers of landuse change may avoid conflict with affordable food provision and reduces the food system's environmental impacts. Through further sustainable intensification and trade, reduced food waste, and healthier human diets, more than two thirds of future biodiversity losses are avoided and the biodiversity trends from habitat conversion are reversed by 2050 for almost all models. Although limiting further loss will remain challenging in several biodiversity-rich regions, and other threats, such as climate change, must be addressed to truly reverse biodiversity declines, our results show that bold conservation efforts and food system transformation are central to an effective post-2020 biodiversity strategy. Reversing biodiversity trends by 2050 Without further efforts to counteract habitat loss and degradation, we projected that global biodiversity will continue to decline (BASE scenario; Fig. 1). Rates of loss over time for all nine BDIs in 2010-2050 were close to or greater than those estimated for 1970-2010 (Extended data Extended Data Table 1). For various biodiversity aspects, on average across IAM and BDI combinations, peak losses over the 2010-2100 period were: 13% (range: 1-26%) for the extent of suitable habitat, 54% (range: 45-63%) for wildlife population density, 5% (range: 2-9%) for local compositional intactness , 4% (range: 1-12%) for global extinctions, and 4% (range: 2-8%) for regional extinctions (Extended Data Table 1). Percentage losses were greatest in biodiversity-rich regions (Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, South East Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America; Extended Data Fig. 2). The projected future trends for habitat loss and degradation and its driv...

Breeding grey-headed albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma, tracked from Marion Island (Prince Edward Islands) during November-December 1997 and January-February 1998, showed a strong association with mesoscale oceanographic features, as identified by sea surface height anomalies, in the southern Indian Ocean. During incubation, most birds foraged to the north of the island, at the edges of anomalies created by the Agulhas Return Current in the Subtropical Convergence and the Subantarctic zones. In contrast, during chick-rearing all tracked birds foraged to the southwest of the island, at the edges of anomalies along the South-West Indian Ridge. Previous work in this area has shown that these anomalies are in fact eddies that are created as the Antarctic Circumpolar Current crosses the South-West Indian Ridge. Diet samples taken during the chick-rearing period showed a predominance of fresh specimens of the predatory fish Magnisudis prionosa and the squid Martialia hyadesi. Myctophid fish and amphipods Themisto gaudichaudii, both known prey of M. hyadesi, were also well represented in our samples. Diet samples taken from tracked birds showed birds feeding at edges of positive anomalies returning with fresh specimens of M. prionosa and M. hyadesi. Predatory fish and squid are thus presumably concentrated at these features. Eddies formed at the South-West Indian Ridge have also been shown to drift closer to Marion Island, within the foraging range of penguins and seals breeding on Marion Island. We therefore suggest that these mesoscale oceanographic features may be an important component of the 'life-support' system enabling globally significant populations of seabirds and seals to breed at the Prince Edward Islands. KEY WORDS: Albatross · Foraging ecology · Diet · OceanographyResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

Achieving the policy and practice shifts needed to secure ecosystem services is hampered by the inherent complexities of ecosystem services and their management. Methods for the participatory production and exchange of knowledge offer an avenue to navigate this complexity together with the beneficiaries and managers of ecosystem services. We develop and apply a knowledge coproduction approach based on social-ecological systems research and assess its utility in generating shared knowledge and action for ecosystem services. The approach was piloted in South Africa across four case studies aimed at reducing the risk of disasters associated with floods, wildfires, storm waves, and droughts. Different configurations of stakeholders (knowledge brokers, assessment teams, implementers, and bridging agents) were involved in collaboratively designing each study, generating and exchanging knowledge, and planning for implementation. The approach proved useful in the development of shared knowledge on the sizable contribution of ecosystem services to disaster risk reduction. This knowledge was used by stakeholders to design and implement several actions to enhance ecosystem services, including new investments in ecosystem restoration, institutional changes in the private and public sector, and innovative partnerships of science, practice, and policy. By bringing together multiple disciplines, sectors, and stakeholders to jointly produce the knowledge needed to understand and manage a complex system, knowledge coproduction approaches offer an effective avenue for the improved integration of ecosystem services into decision making.natural hazards | regulating services | resilience | participatory research | boundary work