“Biodiversity loss is the greatest crisis humanity is facing”

According to Josef Settele, co-editor of the IPBES report, new and more precise data substantiates this doubling within just a few years. By comparison, the number of animal and plant species worldwide is estimated at around eight million; some experts even believe it could be 15 million of which the majority has yet to be identified and described. "So we are losing many species before we have even discovered them," warns Tockner.

We are losing many species before we have even discovered them

The reasons for the extinction of species are manifold. These include climate change, introduced invasive species and, last but not least, the intensive economic use of land and oceans, which leads to habitat loss. For Tockner, this development is worrying. "The decline in biodiversity in the Anthropocene – the period of history shaped by humanity – is about a hundred times faster than the natural changes we know about throughout earth’s history," he says with a serious look. "We really have to take every measure we have at our disposal because we are running out of time."

Genetically modified plants and new incentive schemes

There is already some progress. In 2022, around 200 countries agreed at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montréal that at least 30 percent of the world's land and sea area should be protected by 2030. In addition, they agreed to reduce environmentally harmful subsidies amounting to 500 billion US dollars per year and to halve the risk to people and the environment from pesticides by 2030.

From Tockner's point of view, these are important decisions, but now it is a matter of implementation. "If you designate protected areas, you also have to monitor their protection," he says, leaning forward. "Even in Germany, we have protected areas that aren’t deserving of the name." In addition, developments such as climate change or the consequences of pesticide use do not stop at the borders of the protected areas. As a result, biodiversity is declining just as sharply in some protected areas as outside, he points out. 

In order to effectively counteract the loss, a wide range of innovative measures is needed. This is where Tockner becomes energetic. "We need effective species’ protection," he says. "And we basically have to spend significantly more money on prevention instead of on repairing damage to nature. So far, only a very small part of the expenditure on environmental protection goes into precautionary measures – ones that protect healthy ecosystems." At the same time, Tockner says we should be open to new solutions.

For him, this also includes the well-considered use of genetically modified plants. These are important if we are to halve the use of pesticides while still managing to feed the planet’s more than eight billion people. He calls on politicians to create new incentive schemes that reward positive action for nature. For agriculture, for example, this could mean reducing land subsidies and, instead, rewarding farmers who use less land, less fertilizer and less pesticides.

The external costs of our actions must be internalized. That would massively promote sustainable management.

The same could be done in other industries, for example by rewarding companies that use less resources – whether that be water, wood, cotton or other natural resources. For this purpose, politicians could use funds that become available if environmentally harmful subsidies are reallocated. "The external costs of our actions must be internalised," says Tockner. "That would massively promote sustainable management."

At the juncture between politics and society

Tockner sees his task as being at the juncture of science, politics and society. "We can advise politicians with our knowledge and research," he says. "At the same time, with our three museums in Frankfurt, Dresden and Görlitz, we reach about one million people and thus broad sections of the society." This is a great lever and at the same time a great responsibility. "In my view, there is no better place to initiate major economic transformations than a research museum," he says.  "Research museums are those institutions that enjoy the highest level of trust among people."

In my view, there is no better place to initiate major economic transformations than a research museum.

Tockner has been working on the topic of biodiversity for about 40 years. "I feel it is an incredible privilege that I was able to study and follow this path," he says with a view to his career. "And when you're in such a privileged situation, you have to get involved in something important." The same goes for the museums. "My hope is that people will gain a different perspective that they can bring to their profession and their circle of friends," he says. "We need curious, enthusiastic and critical people." Tockner’s aim is for the Senckenberg museums to be an impetus for exactly that.

This page was published in 10/2024.