Every year on 22 May, the International Day for Biological Diversity is celebrated, a date that once again highlights the need to act against the rapid loss of nature worldwide. In this context, two recent reports—one at European level and another focused on the Mediterranean—help to better understand the scale of the problem and its implications.
The report State of the Environment in Europe 2025, published by the European Environment Agency, confirms a worrying trend: biodiversity continues to decline steadily. More than 80% of protected habitats are in an unfavourable conservation status, and ecosystems—terrestrial, marine and freshwater alike—continue to deteriorate. In addition, only 37% of surface waters are in good ecological condition, and between 60% and 70% of European soils show signs of degradation. The causes are multiple, but the report particularly highlights land-use change, pollution, and current production and consumption patterns as key drivers. Despite more than a quarter of Europe’s territory being protected, the report concludes that Europe has failed to halt biodiversity loss and that meeting the 2030 targets will be difficult without profound transformation.
Looking more closely at the Mediterranean, the situation is equally complex. The IUCN report Biodiversity and Agriculture in the Mediterranean Region (2025) describes the area as a major biodiversity hotspot, home to thousands of species—many of them endemic—but also as one of the regions most under pressure from human activity. According to the analysis, one in four species (26%) is at risk of extinction, rising to 50% for freshwater species. Furthermore, 38% of wild crop relatives—key to future food security—are also threatened. Agriculture plays a particularly significant role in this context: at least 28% of species are affected by agricultural activities, and 38% of threatened species are impacted by such pressures. Indeed, the region has been extensively transformed: around 82% of its land is occupied by agricultural systems or associated landscapes, which explains why 76% of species inhabit human-modified environments.
In this context, another recent report promoted by the United Nations, For All Life on Earth: Actions to Protect, Restore and Sustainably Use Nature, broadens the perspective and highlights that biodiversity loss is also closely linked to increasingly frequent phenomena such as drought. The report notes that healthy ecosystems act as a natural buffer against water scarcity, as they “shield us from hunger, drought and other climate impacts”. Their degradation therefore not only results in species loss, but also reduces the ability of territories to cope with extreme events, particularly in vulnerable regions such as the Mediterranean.
In this area, European initiatives such as Germ of Life, supported by the Interreg Euro-MED programme, are working to improve the prevention of drought-related risks in the Mediterranean region. Through this approach, the project also contributes to biodiversity preservation by strengthening ecosystem resilience to one of the most visible impacts of climate change.
This year’s International Day for Biological Diversity emphasises the idea that we must all “be part of the plan” to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The global campaign aims to convey that institutional commitments alone are not enough: public authorities, businesses and society as a whole must be engaged in concrete actions, ranging from ecosystem protection to changes in production and consumption models. The goal is to advance the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework and accelerate real solutions on the ground.
As both reports highlight, biodiversity loss is not only an environmental issue; it has direct consequences for everyday aspects such as food, access to water and our capacity to adapt to climate change. For this reason, the observance of this day is a call to act at all levels, particularly in key regions such as the Mediterranean.
Biodiversity continues to decline, but there is still scope to reverse this trend if more ambitious measures are adopted and current models of interaction with the environment are transformed.
