“One of the most important encounters in human history”

For 80 million years, Madagascar was isolated from the outside world. Today it is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world. Most plant and animal species are endemic, meaning they are found nowhere else on Earth.

– All biologists know that Madagascar is rich in species, but together our research team has spent thousands of hours trying to figure out how many species are actually involved, how many are endemic and where they are found, says Alexandre Antonelli.

For example, researchers can say that 56 percent of the island’s birds, 95 percent of mammals, and 98 percent of reptile species are found only here and nowhere else.

Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world. 28 million people rely heavily on natural resources for their survival. People cut wood for fire and use native plants to cure all kinds of ailments. The island’s biological diversity is now described as critically threatened. Alexandre Antonelli calls on governments and environmental organizations to help protect unique biodiversity.

– But conservation work should be done in collaboration with the local community. It’s absolutely critical to functioning, he says.

This week, the UN Biodiversity Summit, COP 15, kicked off in Canada. The meeting will continue till December 19. Alexandre Antonelli, who will be participating in the stadium, believes the results in Madagascar will be a call to action. The talks were postponed due to the pandemic. Now is the time, says Alexandre Antonelli.

– This is one of the most important encounters in the history of humanity and diversity. If biodiversity loss is not halted by 2030 and the negative trend is not fully reversed by 2050, it will be too late. He says there will be little left.

He calls for frameworks and binding targets for biodiversity conservation. Ideally, he would also see a financial system to help poor countries. However, he doesn’t have much hope.

– In previous meetings, the focus was on finding compromises. With so many chefs in the kitchen, it’s difficult to achieve such ambitious goals and follow-up systems that the world needs. Alexandre Antonelli says that we researchers should do our best, but ultimately it is the world leaders who make the decisions behind closed doors.

At the same time, he emphasizes that it is not too late. There is still time to save what we have left and recover what we have lost. However, as well as tackling climate change and invasive species, we need to reduce consumption and green both products and services, says Alexandre Antonelli.

– If we succeed in this, we will improve living conditions for living things so that they can continue to thrive. Then we will not only prevent biodiversity loss but also get more species. This will mean a safe and healthy future for us

People, too, are in balance with the rest of nature.