Global Biodiversity Is Falling Fast, Imperiling Humanity. Can Better Policy Avert a Collapse?

At least half of global insect and phytoplankton biomass is now gone. The tropical rainforests, a storehouse of genetic information and serving as key components of the terrestrial biosphere, have been decimated. Meanwhile, the challenges mount as the seas rise, invading coastal ecosystems; ocean waters become more acidic and inhospitable to many marine denizens; and the land warms faster than nature can cope. The robust international legal regime to protect species and habitat is failing. Can improved policy save the global ecosystem?