ClimateCC.org - Down to Earth

Click here to read the Original Article and obtain References

The State of the Planet

Our biosphere, the layer of roughly 12 miles/20 kms around the planet where life can thrive, is a complex living system created over 4 billion years by evolution. We don't fully understand all the elements, processes, or connections that have shaped our planet to become the living system that we know today. We cannot replicate it or improve it. For that simple reason, we should not continue to change or "manage" natural systems but safeguard them.

However, humans have modified the surface of the Earth through farming, logging, mining, fishing, urbanization, industry, and more. 95% of the Earth's surface today has some indication of human modification, while 84% has multiple human impacts. These modifications have disrupted the natural processes of our planet which created the environment for biodiversity, including humanity, to evolve. Today, we have breached seven out of nine Planetary Boundaries, or planetary systems that make life possible. These include:

Climate Change - we have disrupted the water cycle that drives the climate through deforestation and by paving over lands and wetlands & we have released more heat-trapping emissions into the atmosphere than ever before in human history
Biosphere Integrity - the ecosystems that support biodiversity, clean air, water, soils have been compromised
Land System Change - we have converted forests, grasslands, wetlands to agriculture or urbanization
Freshwater Change - we have changed the flow of streams, rivers, and rootzone soil moisture
Biogeochemical Flows - the cycling of earth elements between living organisms, the atmosphere, and geology, including the carbon, the nitrogen, and the water cycles have been altered
Novel Entities - chemicals and plastics released into the environment now exceed safe limits
Ocean Acidification - the levels of Carbon in the oceans now threaten marine life and coral reefs

As a result, we find ourselves in this triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity collapse (as we are nearing a human-caused mass extinction), and waste/pollution.

To restore Earth's balance:

1) We must protect the remaining natural ecosystems, expand, connect, rewild, and safeguard them so that natural processes can resume;

2) We must cut all emissions to zero (not net-zero); and,

3) We must convert our wasteful economy into a circular economy by recycling all our waste.

We can act immediately to slow down the feedback loops that are accelerating current system's break-down.

The fastest and most impactful action is the restoration and permanent protection of land and waters - something we can all work on!

Retaining existing ecosystems and restoring an additional 30% of converted land would mitigate 71% (+/-4%) of current extinctions and 49% of all the CO2 increase since the industrial revolution. In 2022, 196 countries signed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework committing to protecting 30% of all lands and waters by 2030 since biodiversity if on the brink of a mass-extinction.

Image Courtesy of PEER.org showing the proportion of wild mammals to humans and their domesticated mammals.

One species (humans) is taking over the biosphere. We need to step back and let the remaining (estimated to be up to) one trillion species recover. To quote E.O. Wilson:

"Have we no shame?"

Protection v. Conservation

It's 2026 and we are very far from achieving the vital goal of protecting 30% of lands and waters by 2030. Global interests have focused very narrowly on emissions reductions, which since 1997, when market mechanisms came into play, have been derailed by the Carbon Trade. Corporations can simply purchase cheap and ineffective carbon credits instead of cleaning up their acts. The carbon trade (including offsets and cap and trade) has become a cheap greenwashing scheme that has undermined the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5C. The problem stems from the powerful lobbies from the fossil fuel, the forestry, gas, corn, beef, etc. industries. These corporate interests undercut real efforts and sideline elected officials with the result that emissions are still continuing to climb year after year.

The goal of protecting 30% of lands and waters in turn has become a gaslighting scheme by leadership. Rather than "preserving" or "protecting" lands and waters, these are being put into "conservation" - which still allows for mining, logging, forest management, farming, fishing, and even traffic - none of which helps the recovery of Earth's processes or restores natural habitat for biodiversity. Truly protected areas must be left alone, to self regulate ("passive management"). While degraded land may need initial restoration and rewilding, once restored, it should be permanently protected from any management or manipulation. However, our governments are telling us we are meeting the goals with lands "in conservation." "Conservation" only means they will not be paved over. A forest in conservation can still be logged and mined, fields can still be sprayed, lakes can be boated and fished. The science is clear that we need to protect lands and waters to repair Earth's systems.

We have no more time to waste. We cannot wait for leadership to change. Work on the ground will come down to grassroots movements and NGOs. Yep, that's you and me. There are many organizations and individuals who are protecting existing ecosystems, restoring and rewilding others, to add them into permanent protected areas, but they are not coordinating. We must unite our efforts and follow the same guidelines so we can connect protected areas through corridors and buffer zones.

It is important that we distinguish between NGOs that put lands and waters into preservation and those who put these into conservation. It is unfortunate that many of the "big green organizations" are working directly with industry. For example many organizations such as The Nature Conservancy and American Forests talk about "No net forest cover loss". This means that an old or mature forest can be clearcut, as long as a field of baby-seedlings is planted. However, the newly planted forest will take decades or centuries to provide the level of ecosystem services (habitat, fertile soil generation, air purification, water cycling and filtration, etc. ) which the mature forest provided - if it makes it. Climate change is making forest recovery more difficult with increasing heat, floods, and droughts. Only gross forest cover gain should be considered.

Indigenous protesters march outside the COP30 climate conference in Belém do Pará, Brazil on Nov. 17. 2025. Photo by Peter Gelderloos - Courtesy of InTheseTimes.com

Step by step repair

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has created the "Man and Biosphere" program. In it, the process called "zonation" is described where biosphere reserves around intact ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots are designated the core of a reserve. Around the core, a buffer is created to be restored and rewilded, expanding the core. Around this buffer, a transition zone is established where only compatible activities, such as regenerative farming, agroforestry, ecotourism, solar and wind energy generation, etc. can take place.

In addition, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has established guidelines for rewilding. These include letting nature lead; large scale restoration for the creation of wildlife corridors; continued monitoring; working within natural systems; and, placed-based and participatory rewilding- which means it's a locally led effort. The IUCN also requires no management in rewilded areas.

Many other global efforts exist, and many NGOs and individuals are working to preserve their land. The key now is to stitch together all the protected lands and waters, and with the guidance of dedicated scientists, expand and connect the reserves through the zonation process. That guidance, on a global scale can be provided by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service (IPBES). On national scales, the Alliance of World Scientists, and the Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW) can lead the way in outlining the areas and that should be protected today for today's and tomorrow's bio-reserves.

We must also look at land use in general: The U.S., for example, has 86.5 million acres of corn; 83.5 million acres of soybeans, 48.5 million acres of hay and 845 million acres of livestock grazing. Up to half of the corn and soy is dedicated to biodiesel and ethanol respectively, despite biodiesel having up to 86% of the emissions of regular diesel and ethanol having up to 24% more emissions than gasoline. We also need to shift towards a more plant-based diet – which would reduce the hay and grazing acreage. This land can be used to expand and connect reserves.

Instead of having "cash crops", "working forests", and abandoned impervious surfaces, we can re-green open areas with native plant life and trees. This will restore the soil carbon sponge. We must restore and preserve, and connect. natural forests - not manage them - to help repair the water cycle. Trees bring rain inland from coastal areas, restore soil moisture, replenish the groundwater, cool the atmosphere and soil surface, and stabilize ecosystems.

Payment for the land and the restoration should come from the reallocation of climate-harming subsidies and incentives such as fossil fuels, ethanol, biomass, corn, soy, beef, logging, etc., where leadership is amenable. With the help of philanthropists, some land could also be outright acquired.

Science must lead the way in determining what areas will become protected cores; how far buffers can be expanded to be added to the core; how to restore, rewild, and monitor these buffers and the transition zones, etc. Local advocates, activists and NGOs can then implement the work under the supervision of designated supervisors. Local communities must also advocate for moving lands "in conservation" into permanent protection and expansion. The change of the management style in local forests, wetlands, and grasslands is an administrative action by local and state governments.

UNESCO: Man and Biosphere's Zonation

Image from UNESCO/elhambre https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/wnbr/about

Core areas (3)

They comprise a strictly protected zone that contributes to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation

Buffer zones (2)

They surround or adjoin the core area(s), and are used for activities compatible with sound ecological practices that can reinforce scientific research, monitoring, training and education.

Transition area (1)

The transition area is where communities foster socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable economic and human activities.

These cores, expanding buffers, and transition zones, need to be connected for optimal ecosystems services provision. The aim is to ensure fully protected cores and connected buffer zones for no less than 30%, ideally 50% of our planet's surface.

Are you Down to Earth?

Help us create a grassroots movement that can repair our biosphere - join the global regreening!

See where your leadership stands on protecting 30% of all lands and waters by 2030.. You can find U.S. guidelines here. Hold leadership accountable and ask your local municipal, county, and state governments to move natural public lands and waters into permanent protection without any forms of extraction (farming, logging, mining, fishing) or traffic for biodiversity and ecosystem processes recovery.
What conservation organizations, land and water trusts, restoration and rewilding organization operate in your area? Invite them to become founding members of Down to Earth by following the zonation process.
Actively support native landscape recovery (grasslands, chaparrals, wetlands, lakes, bays...) restoration and rewilding efforts in permanently protected areas.
Proudly show off any land restoration you are taking part in: post it on social media, encourage others! Whether you're protecting your woodlands from management or turning your local park, your own yard, or farm into protected native meadows or pollinator patches, or whether you're participating in larger reforestation, rewilding, or regenerative projects, the more people observe this trend, the more people will join.
Educate your community and elected officials around the difference in "land conservation" and "land preservation" (and "forest conservation v. forest protection"). Encourage your local and state governments to change the management style of forests, state parks, wetlands, etc. into passive management, instead of active management - allowing ecosystem processes to evlove naturally.
Educate your public officials: send emails, send pictures of areas "in conservation" v. "protected" areas. Take them for on-site walks. Provide testimony at local and state wide hearings.
Sign on below and invite others to join. We're just getting started!

Organizational Sign-on

Individual Sign-on

Page updated

Report abuse