Editing Holocene extinction (section)

=== New Zealand ===
{{Main|List of New Zealand animals extinct in the Holocene}}
{{See also|Biodiversity of New Zealand|Timeline of the New Zealand environment|Invasive species in New Zealand}}

New Zealand is characterized by its [[geographic isolation]] and [[Insular biogeography|island biogeography]], and had been isolated from mainland Australia for 80 million years. It was the last large land mass to be colonized by humans. Upon the arrival of [[Polynesia]]n settlers in the late 13th century, the native biota suffered a catastrophic decline due to deforestation, hunting, and the introduction of invasive species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Holdaway |first1=Simon J. |last2=Emmitt |first2=Joshua |last3=Furey |first3=Louise |last4=Jorgensen |first4=Alex |last5=O'Regan |first5=Gerard |last6=Phillipps |first6=Rebecca |last7=Prebble |first7=Matthew |last8=Wallace |first8=Roderick |last9=Ladefoged |first9=Thegn N. |date=18 November 2018 |title=Māori settlement of New Zealand: The Anthropocene as a process |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/arco.5173 |journal=[[Archaeology in Oceania]] |language=en |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=17–34 |doi=10.1002/arco.5173 |issn=0728-4896 |access-date=3 July 2024 |via=Wiley Online Library}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mcglone |first=M.S. |date=1989 |title=The Polynesian Settlement of New Zealand in Relation to Environmental and Biotic Changes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24053254 |journal=[[New Zealand Journal of Ecology]] |volume=12 |pages=115–129 |jstor=24053254 |issn=0110-6465 |access-date=3 July 2024 }}</ref> The extinction of all of the islands' megafaunal birds occurred within several hundred years of human arrival.<ref name="kolbert">{{Cite news|last=Kolbert|first=Elizabeth|date=2014-12-22|title=The Big Kill|newspaper=The New Yorker|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/22/big-kill|access-date=2016-02-25|issn=0028-792X|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001044/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/22/big-kill|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[moa]], large flightless [[ratite]]s, were thriving during the Late Holocene,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Allentoft |first1=Morten Erik |last2=Heller |first2=Rasmus |last3=Oskam |first3=Charlotte L. |last4=Lorenzen |first4=Eline D. |last5=Hale |first5=Marie L. |last6=Gilbert |first6=M. Thomas P. |last7=Jacomb |first7=Christopher |last8=Holdaway |first8=Richard N. |last9=Bunce |first9=Michael |date=17 March 2014 |title=Extinct New Zealand megafauna were not in decline before human colonization |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |language=en |volume=111 |issue=13 |pages=4922–4927 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1314972111 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=3977255 |pmid=24639531 |bibcode=2014PNAS..111.4922A }}</ref> but became extinct within 200 years of the arrival of human settlers,<ref name="Perry-2014" /> as did the enormous [[Haast's eagle]] - their primary predator - the omnivorous [[adzebill| adzebills]] and at least two species of [[New Zealand goose|large, flightless geese]]. The Polynesians also introduced the [[Polynesian rat]], which may have consumed avian eggs and chicks. This may have put some pressure on other birds, but at the time of early European contact (18th century) and colonization (19th century), the bird life was nonetheless prolific.<ref name="kolbert" /> The megafaunal extinction happened extremely rapidly despite a very small population density, which never exceeded 0.01 people per km<sup>2</sup>.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Holdaway |first1=Richard N. |last2=Allentoft |first2=Morten E. |last3=Jacomb |first3=Christopher |last4=Oskam |first4=Charlotte L. |last5=Beavan |first5=Nancy R. |last6=Bunce |first6=Michael |date=7 November 2014 |title=An extremely low-density human population exterminated New Zealand moa |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms6436 |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |page=5436 |doi=10.1038/ncomms6436 |pmid=25378020 |bibcode=2014NatCo...5.5436H |issn=2041-1723 |access-date=4 June 2024 |archive-date=3 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903070309/https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms6436 |url-status=live }}</ref> Extinctions of parasites followed the extinction of New Zealand's megafauna.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lafferty |first1=Kevin D. |last2=Hopkins |first2=Skylar R. |date=13 February 2018 |title=Unique parasite aDNA in moa coprolites from New Zealand suggests mass parasite extinctions followed human-induced megafauna extinctions |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |language=en |volume=115 |issue=7 |pages=1411–1413 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1722598115 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=5816219 |pmid=29440435 |bibcode=2018PNAS..115.1411L }}</ref> With them, the Europeans brought various [[Invasive species in New Zealand|invasive species]] including [[Black rat|ship rat]]s, possums, cats and mustelids which devastated native bird life, some of which had adapted [[Flightless bird|flightlessness]] and ground nesting habits, and had no defensive behavior as a result of having no native mammalian predators. The [[kākāpō]], the world's biggest parrot, which is flightless, now only exists in managed breeding sanctuaries. New Zealand's national emblem, the [[Kiwi (bird)|kiwi]], is on the endangered bird list.<ref name="kolbert" />

<!--  -->==Mitigation==
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Stabilizing [[World Population|human populations]];<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Crist|first1=Eileen|last2=Ripple|first2=William J.|last3=Ehrlich|first3=Paul R.|last4=Rees|first4=William E.|last5=Wolf|first5=Christopher|date=2022|title=Scientists' warning on population|journal=Science of the Total Environment|volume=845|issue=|page=157166|doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157166|s2cid=250387801|pmid=35803428|bibcode=2022ScTEn.84557166C |url=https://scientistswarning.forestry.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/Crist2022.pdf|access-date=2022-11-08|archive-date=2022-11-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112170021/https://scientistswarning.forestry.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/Crist2022.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Beebee |first=Trevor |title=Impacts of Human Population on Wildlife: A British Perspective |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1108833554}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brashares |first1=Justin S. |last2=Arcese |first2=Peter |last3=Sam |first3=Moses K. |date=2001 |title=Human demography and reserve size predict wildlife extinction in West Africa |jstor=3067753 |journal=Proceedings: Biological Sciences |volume=268 |issue=1484 |pages=2473–2478|doi=10.1098/rspb.2001.1815 |pmid=11747566 |pmc=1088902 }}</ref> reining in [[capitalism]],<ref name="Hickel"/><ref name="Dawson"/><ref>{{Cite news |date=8 October 2020 |title=Attenborough: 'Curb excess capitalism' to save nature |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54268038 |access-date=8 November 2022 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008143757/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54268038 |url-status=live }}</ref> decreasing economic demands,<ref name="Crist2021"/><ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Büscher B, Fletcher R, Brockington D, Sandbrook C, Adams W, Campbell L, Corson C, Dressler W, Duffy R, Gray N, Holmes G, Kelly A, Lunstrum E, Ramutsindela M, Shanker K |date=2017 |title=Half-Earth or Whole Earth? Radical ideas for conservation, and their implications |journal=Oryx |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=407–410 |doi=10.1017/S0030605316001228|s2cid=56573294 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and shifting them to economic activities with low impacts on biodiversity;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marques |first1=Alexandra |last2=Martins |first2=Inês S. |last3=Kastner |first3=Thomas |last4=Plutzar |first4=Christoph |last5=Theurl |first5=Michaela C. |last6=Eisenmenger |first6=Nina |last7=Huijbregts |first7=Mark A. J. |last8=Wood |first8=Richard |last9=Stadler |first9=Konstanin |last10=Bruckner |first10=Martin |last11=Canelas |first11=Joana |last12=Hilbers |first12=Jelle P. |last13=Tukker |first13=Arnold |last14=Erb |first14=Karlheinz |last15=Pereira |first15=Henrique M. |date=4 March 2019 |title=Increasing impacts of land use on biodiversity and carbon sequestration driven by population and economic growth |journal=[[Nature Ecology & Evolution]] |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=628–637 |doi=10.1038/s41559-019-0824-3 |pmid=30833755 |pmc=6443044 |bibcode=2019NatEE...3..628M }}</ref> transitioning to [[plant-based diets]];<ref name="Plant-based"/><ref name="Machovina"/> and increasing the number and size of terrestrial and marine protected areas<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Kopina H, Washington H, Gray J, Taylor B |date=2018 |title=The "future of conservation" debate: defending ecocentrism and the Nature Needs Half movement |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=217 |pages=140–148 |issn=0006-3207 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2017.10.016|s2cid=89930104 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Noss R, Dobson A, Baldwin R, Beier P, Davis C, Dellasala D, Francis J, Locke H, Nowak K, Lopez R, Reining C, Trombulak S, Tabor G |date=2012 |title=Bolder thinking for conservation |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=1–4 |doi=10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01738.x|pmid=22280321 |s2cid=44550790 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2012ConBi..26....1N }}</ref> have been suggested to avoid or limit [[biodiversity loss]] and a possible sixth mass extinction. [[Rodolfo Dirzo]] and [[Paul R. Ehrlich]] suggest that "the one fundamental, necessary, 'simple' cure, ... is reducing the scale of the human enterprise."<ref name="Dirzo2022"/> According to a 2021 paper published in ''[[Frontiers Media|Frontiers in Conservation Science]]'', humanity almost certainly faces a "ghastly future" of mass extinction, biodiversity collapse, climate change, and their impacts unless major efforts to change human industry and activity are rapidly undertaken.<ref name="Bradshaw2021"/><ref>{{cite news|last=Weston|first=Phoebe|date=January 13, 2021|title=Top scientists warn of 'ghastly future of mass extinction' and climate disruption|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/13/top-scientists-warn-of-ghastly-future-of-mass-extinction-and-climate-disruption-aoe|access-date=February 13, 2021|archive-date=January 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113050606/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/13/top-scientists-warn-of-ghastly-future-of-mass-extinction-and-climate-disruption-aoe|url-status=live}}</ref>

Reducing human population growth has been suggested as a means of mitigating climate change and the biodiversity crisis,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=O'Sullivan |first1=Jane N. |date=June 2020 |title=The social and environmental influences of population growth rate and demographic pressure deserve greater attention in ecological economics |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800919310201 |journal=[[Ecological Economics (journal)|Ecological Economics]] |volume=172 |page=106648 |doi=10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106648 |bibcode=2020EcoEc.17206648O |s2cid=216368140 |access-date=5 January 2023 |archive-date=6 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106003641/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800919310201 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McKee |first1=Jeffrey K. |last2=Sciulli |first2=Paul W. |last3=Fooce |first3=C. David |last4=Waite |first4=Thomas A. |date=January 2004 |title=Forecasting global biodiversity threats associated with human population growth |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320703000995 |journal=[[Biological Conservation (journal)|Biological Conservation]] |volume=115 |issue=1 |pages=161–164 |doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(03)00099-5 |bibcode=2004BCons.115..161M |access-date=3 January 2023 |archive-date=2 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102165922/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320703000995 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CristEtAl2017">{{cite journal |last1=Crist |first1=Eileen |last2=Mora |first2=Camilo |last3=Engelman |first3=Robert |date=21 April 2017 |title=The interaction of human population, food production, and biodiversity protection |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316286860 |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=356 |issue=6335 |pages=260–264 |doi=10.1126/science.aal2011 |pmid=28428391 |bibcode=2017Sci...356..260C |s2cid=12770178 |access-date=1 January 2023}}</ref> although many scholars believe it has been largely ignored in mainstream policy discourse.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dodson |first1=Jenna C. |last2=Dérer |first2=Patrícia |last3=Cafaro |first3=Philip |last4=Götmark |first4=Frank |date=15 December 2020 |title=Population growth and climate change: Addressing the overlooked threat multiplier |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720348750 |journal=[[Science of the Total Environment]] |volume=748 |page=141346 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141346 |pmid=33113687 |bibcode=2020ScTEn.74841346D |s2cid=225035992 |access-date=5 January 2023 |archive-date=6 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106041958/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720348750 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="KopninaWashington2016">{{cite journal |last1=Kopnina |first1=Helen |last2=Washington |first2=Haydn |date=6 April 2016 |title=Discussing why population growth is still ignored or denied |journal=Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=133–143 |doi=10.1080/10042857.2016.1149296 |s2cid=155499197 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2016CJPRE..14..133K |hdl=1887/44662 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>{{Explain|date=November 2024}} An alternative proposal is greater agricultural efficiency & sustainability. Lots of non-arable land can be made into [[arable land]] good for growing food crops. Mushrooms have also been known to repair damaged soil.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Elsakhawy |first1=Tamer |last2=Omara |first2=Alaa El-Dein |last3=Abowaly |first3=Mohamed |last4=El-Ramady |first4=Hassan |last5=Badgar |first5=Khandsuren |last6=Llanaj |first6=Xhensila |last7=Törős |first7=Gréta |last8=Hajdú |first8=Peter |last9=Prokisch |first9=József |title=Green Synthesis of Nanoparticles by Mushrooms: A Crucial Dimension for Sustainable Soil Management |journal=Sustainability |date=6 April 2022 |volume=14 |issue=7 |pages=12–13 |doi=10.3390/su14074328|doi-access=free |bibcode=2022Sust...14.4328E }}</ref>

A 2018 article in ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' advocated for the global community to designate [[30 by 30|30% of the planet by 2030]], and 50% by 2050, as [[protected area]]s to mitigate the contemporary extinction crisis. It highlighted that the human population is projected to grow to [[Projections of population growth#Up to 2050|10&nbsp;billion by the middle of the century]], and consumption of food and water resources is projected to double by this time.<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Baillie|first1=Jonathan|last2=Ya-Ping |first2=Zhang|date=September 14, 2018|title=Space for nature|journal=Science|volume=361|issue=6407 |pages=1051|doi=10.1126/science.aau1397|pmid=30213888 |bibcode=2018Sci...361.1051B|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2022 report published in ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' warned that 44% of Earth's terrestrial surface, or {{convert|24.7|e6sqmi|e6km2|abbr=off|order=flip}}, must be conserved and made "ecologically sound" to prevent further biodiversity loss.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Allan |first1=James R. |last2=Possingham |first2=Hugh P. |last3=Atkinson |first3=Scott C. |last4=Waldron |first4=Anthony |display-authors=etal. |title=The minimum land area requiring conservation attention to safeguard biodiversity |journal=Science |date=2 June 2022 |volume=376 |issue=6597 |pages=1094–1101 |doi=10.1126/science.abl9127 |pmid=35653463 |bibcode=2022Sci...376.1094A |hdl=11573/1640006 |s2cid=233423065|hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Magramo |first=Kathleen |date=June 3, 2022 |title=More than 40% of Earth's land surface must be conserved to stop the biodiversity crisis, report warns |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/03/world/earth-conservation-report-intl-hnk-scn/index.html |access-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608045732/https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/03/world/earth-conservation-report-intl-hnk-scn/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 2018, the UN's biodiversity chief [[Cristiana Pașca Palmer]] urged people worldwide to pressure governments to implement significant protections for wildlife by 2020. She called biodiversity loss a "silent killer" as dangerous as [[global warming]] but said it had received little attention by comparison. "It's different from climate change, where people feel the impact in everyday life. With biodiversity, it is not so clear but by the time you feel what is happening, it may be too late."<ref>{{cite news|last=Watts|first=Jonathan|date=November 3, 2018|title=Stop biodiversity loss or we could face our own extinction, warns UN|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/03/stop-biodiversity-loss-or-we-could-face-our-own-extinction-warns-un|work=The Guardian|access-date=November 3, 2018|archive-date=January 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127033608/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/03/stop-biodiversity-loss-or-we-could-face-our-own-extinction-warns-un|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 2020, the UN [[Convention on Biological Diversity]] drafted a [[Paris Agreement|Paris-style]] plan to stop biodiversity and [[ecosystem collapse]] by setting the deadline of [[30 by 30|2030 to protect 30% of the Earth's land and oceans]] and to reduce pollution by 50%, to allow for the [[Ecosystem restoration|restoration of ecosystems]] by 2050. The world failed to meet the [[Aichi Biodiversity Targets]] for 2020 set by the convention during a summit in Japan in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|last=Greenfield|first=Patrick|date=January 13, 2020|title=UN draft plan sets 2030 target to avert Earth's sixth mass extinction|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/un-draft-plan-sets-2030-target-to-avert-earths-sixth-mass-extinction-aoe|work=The Guardian|access-date=January 14, 2020|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224095816/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/un-draft-plan-sets-2030-target-to-avert-earths-sixth-mass-extinction-aoe|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Yeung|first=Jessie|date=January 14, 2020|title=We have 10 years to save Earth's biodiversity as mass extinction caused by humans takes hold, UN warns|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/14/world/un-biodiversity-draft-plan-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html|work=CNN|access-date=January 14, 2020|archive-date=February 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215051020/https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/14/world/un-biodiversity-draft-plan-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Of the 20 biodiversity targets proposed, only six were "partially achieved" by the deadline.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dickie|first=Gloria|author-link=Gloria Dickie|date=September 15, 2020|title=Global Biodiversity Is in Free Fall|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-biodiversity-is-in-free-fall/|work=[[Scientific American]]|access-date=September 15, 2020|archive-date=March 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307040317/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-biodiversity-is-in-free-fall/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was called a global failure by [[Inger Andersen (environmentalist)|Inger Andersen]], head of the [[United Nations Environment Programme]]:

{{blockquote|text="From [[COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19]] to massive wildfires, floods, melting glaciers and unprecedented heat, our failure to meet the [[Convention on Biological Diversity|Aichi (biodiversity) targets]]—to protect our home—has very real consequences. We can no longer afford to cast nature to the side."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Larson|first1=Christina|last2=Borenstein|first2=Seth|date=September 15, 2020|title=World isn't meeting biodiversity goals, UN report finds|work=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://apnews.com/f2702a401da3b4c7617e4af7d7a6f2a3|access-date=September 15, 2020|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111061746/https://apnews.com/f2702a401da3b4c7617e4af7d7a6f2a3|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Some scientists have proposed keeping extinctions below 20 per year for the next century as a global target to reduce species loss, which is the biodiversity equivalent of the 2&nbsp;°C climate target, although it is still much higher than the normal background rate of two per year prior to anthropogenic impacts on the natural world.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Rounsevell M, Harfoot M, Harrison P, Newbold T, Gregory R, Mace G|date=June 12, 2020|title=A biodiversity target based on species extinctions|url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10099553/|journal=Science|volume=368|issue=6496|pages=1193–1195|doi=10.1126/science.aba6592|pmid=32527821|bibcode=2020Sci...368.1193R|s2cid=219585428|via=UCL Discovery|access-date=August 26, 2020|archive-date=October 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030202538/https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10099553/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|date=June 30, 2020|title=Fewer than 20 extinctions a year: does the world need a single target for biodiversity?|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|volume=583|issue=7814 |pages=7–8 |doi=10.1038/d41586-020-01936-y|pmid=32606472|bibcode=2020Natur.583....7.|doi-access=free |department=Editorial}}</ref>

An October 2020 report on the "era of pandemics" from [[IPBES]] found that many of the same human activities that contribute to [[biodiversity loss]] and [[climate change]], including [[deforestation]] and the [[wildlife trade]], have also increased the risk of future [[pandemics]]. The report offers several policy options to reduce such risk, such as taxing meat production and consumption, cracking down on the illegal wildlife trade, removing high disease-risk species from the legal wildlife trade, and eliminating subsidies to businesses which are harmful to the environment.<ref name="Damien 102020">{{cite news|last=Carrington|first=Damian|date=October 29, 2020|title=Protecting nature is vital to escape 'era of pandemics' – report|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/29/protecting-nature-vital-pandemics-report-outbreaks-wild|work=The Guardian|access-date=November 28, 2020|archive-date=October 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029144031/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/29/protecting-nature-vital-pandemics-report-outbreaks-wild|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Mcelwee|first=Pamela|date=November 2, 2020|title=COVID-19 and the biodiversity crisis|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/523944-covid-19-and-the-biodiversity-crisis|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|access-date=November 28, 2020|archive-date=May 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515193422/https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/523944-covid-19-and-the-biodiversity-crisis|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="IPBESPandemic">{{cite web|url=https://ipbes.net/pandemics|title=Escaping the 'Era of Pandemics': Experts Warn Worse Crises to Come Options Offered to Reduce Risk|author=<!--Not stated-->|work=IPBES secretariat |date=2020|publisher=[[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]|access-date=November 28, 2020|archive-date=January 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126000615/https://www.ipbes.net/pandemics|url-status=live}}</ref> According to marine zoologist John Spicer, "the [[COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19 crisis]] is not just another crisis alongside the biodiversity crisis and the climate change crisis. Make no mistake, this is one big crisis—the greatest that humans have ever faced."<ref name="Damien 102020"/>

In December 2022, nearly every country on Earth, with the United States and the [[Holy See]] being the only exceptions,<ref>{{cite news|last=Einhorn|first=Catrin|date=December 19, 2022|title=Nearly Every Country Signs On to a Sweeping Deal to Protect Nature|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/climate/biodiversity-cop15-montreal-30x30.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|location=|access-date=January 5, 2023|quote=The United States is just one of two countries in the world that are not party to the Convention on Biological Diversity, largely because Republicans, who are typically opposed to joining treaties, have blocked United States membership. That means the American delegation was required to participate from the sidelines. (The only other country that has not joined the treaty is the Holy See.)|archive-date=December 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219234121/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/climate/biodiversity-cop15-montreal-30x30.html|url-status=live}}</ref> signed onto the [[Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework]] agreement formulated at the [[2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference]] (COP 15) which includes protecting 30% of land and oceans by 2030 and 22 other targets intended to mitigate the extinction crisis. The agreement is weaker than the [[Convention on Biological Diversity|Aichi Targets]] of 2010.<ref name="Paddison">{{cite news|last=Paddison|first=Laura|date=December 19, 2022|title=More than 190 countries sign landmark agreement to halt the biodiversity crisis|url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/19/world/cop15-biodiversity-agreement-montreal-climate-scn-intl/index.html|work=CNN|location=|access-date=January 5, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220015200/https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/19/world/cop15-biodiversity-agreement-montreal-climate-scn-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Curry|first=Tierra|date=December 24, 2022|title=COP15 biodiversity summit: Paving the road to extinction with good intentions|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/3787000-cop15-biodiversity-summit-paving-the-road-to-extinction-with-good-intentions/|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|location=|access-date=January 5, 2023|archive-date=December 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227054903/https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/3787000-cop15-biodiversity-summit-paving-the-road-to-extinction-with-good-intentions/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was criticized by some countries for being rushed and not going far enough to protect endangered species.<ref name="Paddison"/>