Climate change, biodiversity loss and poverty aren’t separate issues—they’re a tangled web. Address one and you help all three. Ignore one and the others get worse.
A new report from IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), highlights how these crises fuel each other and why tackling them together is the only real solution.
The planet has already warmed by 1.2°C since pre-industrial times and climate scientists warn that crossing the 1.5°C threshold will bring extreme and irreversible consequences.
Meanwhile, species are vanishing at rates up to 10,000 times faster than normal, devastating ecosystems that billions of people rely on.
Poverty and environmental destruction go hand in hand says the IFAW study.
Nearly 70% of the world’s poor depend directly on nature for their survival—fishing, farming and foraging to feed their families. But as forests are cleared, oceans warm and lands degrade, these communities lose their livelihoods, forcing them into deeper poverty.
Climate disasters like floods and droughts hit the poorest hardest, destroying homes and crops while wealthier nations, responsible for most emissions, remain largely insulated from the worst effects.
The good news? Nature-based solutions can tackle all three crises at once. Restoring forests, protecting coral reefs and adopting sustainable farming practices absorb carbon, boost biodiversity and create jobs.
IFAW is working with local communities from Kenya to China, helping them become stewards of nature while building sustainable economies.
The IFAW message is clear: we can’t fix climate change without protecting biodiversity and lifting people out of poverty. These problems are interconnected—our solutions must be too.
