Biodiversity refers to all living things on our planet, including ourselves.

Biodiversity is defined as the diversity of all living things. It is expressed at three distinct levels that depend on one another:

• ecosystems, which consists of a living environment characterized by physical and chemical conditions (temperature, sunshine, humidity, etc.) and all the living, interacting beings that make it up.
• the species that make up ecosystems, more than 2 millions species have been identified so far.

genetic diversity within each species.

Properly functioning ecosystems enable human societies to benefit from numerous ecosystem services:

- provisioning services, i.e. all the natural resources we use: food, raw materials (wood, cotton, etc.), medicines, etc.

- regulating services: healthy ecosystems enable essential physico-chemical cycles to take place: regulation of climate, water treatment, pollination, protection against disease, natural disasters, etc.

- support services are like the “back-office operations” of biodiversity, enabling ecosystems to function properly (photosynthesis, soil formation, etc.).

- cultural services concern the cultural, spiritual and recreational aspects.

50% of global GDP depends on nature (WEF 2020).

This dependence varies from sector to sector. The most exposed sectors are those dependent on the direct exploitation of natural resources, such as agriculture, food processing, forestry and fishing. The service sectors, for example, are less exposed. Nevertheless, the complete dependence of our food systems on nature makes this a key strategic issue for all.

As a result, countries with the least tertiarized economies and with food production still making a significant contribution to their GDP are highly dependent on nature. This is the case for many high-growth countries: India, Indonesia and many African countries.