...we would set aside half the planet for wildlife?

We should all be aware of the fact that the world’s biodiversity is in danger, and that this is mainly the fault of us humans. There are already a lot of animals and plants who are endangered and scientists predict that more than one million species are on track for extinction in the coming decades.This loss of biodiversity has a huge impact on us humans as an unbalanced ecosystem will also endanger our lives.

A popular example is the decreasing bee population. Without the fertilization of plants by bees and other insects, most plants would stop to grow. This would mean that the main source of food for animals and also us humans would disappear. Many species would go extinct and even our survival would be endangered.

Just like the bees every species has its own unique impact on the ecosystem. This means that every extinct species creates a change in the ecosystem which leads to many, often unpredictable difficulties. For this reason it is very important and in our own interest to make sure that the biodiversity on our planet is ensured.

But what exactly can we do?

One idea, known by the name “Half Earth” is to set aside half of the planet for wildlife. But how would that work? I think we can all agree that it is impossible to just split the earth in two equally big pieces by a wall and keep one half totally human- free so that wildlife could life without our influence. However this is not the idea behind “Half Earth” anyways.

The concept is more about creating more conservation areas to ensure the protection of endangered species. Setting aside half of the planet for wildlife would mean to choose the areas that are most worth to protect because they have the biggest biodiversity.

Right now about 15% of the land and 7.6% of the oceans are protected. To reach the goal of a 50% protection more would have to be done in the future.