GILLIAN BURKE

"Is damaging habitats to fuel the green transition justified?"

The planet is about to get the mother of all health checks, and one thing is for certain: while traditional surveys still have their place, we have come a long way from chucking quadrants on the ground.

Back in 2022, the UN Biodiversity Conference, or COP15, had its ‘Paris moment’ with the signing of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which committed nations to halting and reversing nature loss by 2030. In order to hit this fast-approaching target, a worldwide biosurveillance system was proposed to monitor progress and inform decision-making. It is nothing short of breathtaking in its scale and ambition.