The ongoing mass extinction of the natural world ranks with pandemics, world war, and climate change as among the greatest threats that humanity has imposed on itself. To lose so much of Earth’s biodiversity is to both destroy our living heritage, and to risk the stability of the planet, today and for all future generations.
Half-Earth is a call to protect half the land and sea in order to manage sufficient habitat to reverse the species extinction crisis and ensure the long-term health of our planet. The Half-Earth Project is bringing this goal to life.
“Unless humanity learns a great deal more about global biodiversity and moves quickly to protect it, we will soon lose most of the species composing life on Earth.” – E.O. Wilson (1929–2021)
Why Half?
Why one-half? The crucial factor in the life and death of species is the amount of suitable habitat left to them. As defined by the theory of island biogeography, a change in area of a habitat results in a change in the sustainable number of species by approximately the fourth root. As reserves grow in size, the diversity of life surviving within them also grows. As reserves are reduced in area, the diversity within them declines to a mathematically predictable degree swiftly – often immediately and, for a large fraction, forever.
When 90% of habitat is removed, the number of species that can persist sustainably will descend to about a half. Such is the actual condition of many of the most species-rich localities around the world. In these places, if 10% of the remaining natural habitat were then also removed, most or all of the surviving resident species would disappear.
If, on the other hand, we protect half the global surface, the fraction of species protected will be 85%, or more. At one-half and above, life on Earth enters the safe zone.
Which Half?
Half-Earth is a call to protect half the land and sea in order to manage sufficient habitat to safeguard the bulk of biodiversity. Advances in technology now allow us to comprehensively map the geospatial location and distribution of the species of our planet at high enough resolution to drive decision-making about where we have the best opportunity to protect the most species. This is the work of the Half-Earth Project.
E.O. Wilson
Edward O. Wilson (1929–2021) was the Honorary Curator in Entomology and University Research Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, Chairman of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation Board of Advisors, and Chairman of the Half-Earth Council. He was generally recognized as one of the leading scientists in the world. He was also recognized as one of the foremost naturalists in both science and literature, as well as a synthesizer in works stretching from pure biology across to the social sciences and humanities.
So how do we do this?
How do we make caring for the rest of life part of our common humanity and the way we live our lives?
The Half-Earth Project brings together deep scientific research, experienced leadership and inspirational engagement as never collaboratively convened before, creating fresh goal-driven energy where existing efforts are losing ground. It addresses gaps in our current approach to our shared species extinction crisis and all of the cascading effects, and creates a compelling campaign for re-invigorated action.
Research
The Half-Earth Project is championing research to better understand our world, support conservation efforts, nurture future biodiversity stewardship, and perpetuate conservation efforts worldwide. We are working continuously to discover and identify our planet’s species and support regional biodiversity research and scholarship.
Lead
The Half-Earth Map is providing leadership to inform the identification of which places we can best manage for conservation in order to protect the most species. The Knowledge Platform is fostering greater understanding and action about how we can get to Half-Earth. Model conservation efforts are also showcased to inspire and inform best practices to get to Half-Earth.
Engage
The Half-Earth Project is engaging people everywhere to join us and participate broadly to achieve the goal of Half-Earth. We are tracking progress towards the goal of Half-Earth as an inspiring moonshot we can all work together to reach.
Half-Earth Project Team
Motivated by the species we are working to protect and the health of our shared planet, the Half-Earth Project team is a gathering of expertise from around the world necessary to achieving this grand goal.
The Half-Earth Council is composed of thought-leaders across the wide-ranging fields of expertise necessary to comprehensively address the extinction crisis and support a movement culture that works to protect half the Earth for the rest of life. The Half-Earth Council has scientific leadership at its core. Members of the Council include population, sustainability and restoration specialists; public and private conservation leaders; indigenous peoples advocates; biodiversity-minded economists; business engagement experts, creative media producers and celebrity icons.
LEAD SCIENTIST
E.O. Wilson (1929–2021)
HALF-EARTH CHAIR
Piotr Naskrecki
E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory, Gorongosa National Park
RESTORATION
Greg Carr
Gorongosa Restoration Project
PRIVATE/PUBLIC CONSERVATION
Kris Tompkins
Tompkins Conservation
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
Sean B. Carroll
Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
University of Wisconsin
PRIVATE CONSERVATION, ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Laura Turner Seydel
Turner Foundation, Captain Planet
ECONOMICS
Jeff Sachs
UN SDSN, Earth Institute
Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University
HUMAN FOOTPRINT
Mathis Wackernagel
Global Footprint Network
POPULATION
John Seager
Population Connection
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Robin Kimmerer
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
RESTORATION
Mike Phillips
Turner Endangered Species Fund
FILM/MEDIA
Louie Psihoyos
Oceanic Preservation Society
BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Tom Lovejoy (1941-2021)
UN Foundation, George Mason
OCEANS
Sylvia Earle
Mission Blue
MAPPING
Dawn Wright
Chief Scientist, Esri
HALF-EARTHERS
The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation and its Half-Earth Project are grateful for the financial support of the following individuals, corporations and foundations.
Judith Adler
Edith Albritton
Alisann and Terry Collins Foundation
Alexander Anderson
Marcia Angle and Mark Trustin
Ann M. Bragg Fund
Jonathan Arnold
R. David and Kathryn V. Arnold
Todd and Diane Baker
T.A. Barron
Beardsley Family Foundation
Douglas Bender
Gwendolyn Binder
BioAtla
Bonovich Giving Trust
Heather Bowden
Sheila Brady
Cary Brown
Kathleen Bruch
Lou Caprioglio
Greg Carr
MK Carson
CBRE
John Culbertson
Christine Curtis
Lee Ann Daly
David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Robin Davis
Anthony and Shauna Doerr
Mac and Sophie Ehrhardt
Gerry Ehrlich
Gwen Emery
ESRI
Robert Evrén
Samuel Feinsmith and Sarah-Bess Dworin
Finca La Donaira
Harrison Ford
Steven Remmer Fox
Jameson French
Bonnie Garmus
Morley and Deana Golden
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Katherine Gould-Martin and Robert L. Martin
Kevin Grady
Miriam Grynberg
Edwin and Geoffrey Hamlyn
James and Linda Hargrove
Caryl and Mickey Hart
Don Henley
Clare Hirn
Thomas Holloway
Kanya Honoki
Joseph Geoffrey Hook
Houdini Sportswear
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
James M. Stone and Cathleen D. Stone Family Foundation
Monica Kalmanson-Midler
David Keith
Victoria and Stanford Keziah
Lucinda Lang
Sylvia Le Blancq
Kristin Hettermann Lindblad and Sven-Olof Lindblad
Liu Family Fund
Stephen Lockhart and Karen Bals
Doug MacKie
Seshu Madhavapeddy
Deborah Magness
Ryan Malone
Angela Manno
Virginia Martin
Aileen Mason
Paul and Karen Montgomery
Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation
Gabriel Nadel
Dave and Sarah Nigh
Roland Norton
Gail O’Keefe
Victoria Olson
Patagonia
Payne-Brodeur Giving Fund
Matthew Peetz
H.F.W. Perk and Leslie Dean Price
Mark Pfefferle
Ariel Phillips and Gwyndaf Jones
David Prend
Beth and Keith Richtman
Nicholas Robinson
Jonathan and Diana Rose
James A. Rosen
Roger Sant and Doris Matsui
Aaron Santell
Andrew Saunders
Jay and Carolyn Short
Paul Simon
Charles Smith
Cheryl Snell
Sony Music Group
Natalie Soonthornswad
Fred and Alice Stanback
Stanley Fund
Joey Stein
Joan Steyaert
Graeme Stockton
Sulentic Family Foundation
Thomas and Sara de Swardt
Syngenta
The Burt’s Bees Foundation
The Ellis Family Charitable Fund
The Hearst Foundation
The Mayer Trust
The Nathan M. Ohrbach Foundation
The Vermont Community Foundation
Amy Tidovsky and Jim McDuffie
Keith Tuffley
Turner Foundation
Jeff and Laurie Ubben
Robert Vogt
Glenna Waterman
Wendy Weaver
David Welborn and Ann Hunter-Welborn
Kevin Wheeler
Steven White
John Taylor Williams
Greg Zimmerman
We Must Act Now.
Before we’ve lost irreplaceable species and ecosystems forever.
