Published on 27 April 2017, Cambridge University Press
Büscher et al.’s (2016) recent article ‘Half-Earth or Whole Earth? Radical ideas for conservation, and their implications’ raises some important issues for conservation, but it paints a misleading picture of the Nature Needs Half movement. Nature Needs Half expresses three main tenets: (1) habitat loss and degradation are the leading causes of biodiversity loss, (2) current protected areas are not extensive enough to stem further loss of biodiversity, and (3) it is morally wrong for our species to drive other species to extinction (Wilson, 2016). Conservation biologists agree that to maintain viable populations of most of Earth’s remaining species, we will need to protect c. 50% of landscapes and seascapes from intensive human economic use (Noss & Cooperrider, 1994; Locke, 2014). This bold goal is necessary if we hope to bring our societies’ massive displacement of other species to an end.
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