Foreword by Sir David Attenborough, CCI Patron
“CCI has proved that when you bring the right people together within a global initiative, remarkable things do happen.”
We are reaching a tipping point for global biodiversity. The loss of pollinating insects threatens the food crops we depend on. The destruction of rainforests and other wild areas contributes to rampant climate change. Our oceans are being emptied of fish, while our irreplaceable soil is being lost to erosion. The natural processes on which all human life depends are being stretched to breaking point. Without rebuilding these processes, society will be imperiled by our own destruction of the natural world. This brief opportunity to reverse the damage to our planet is disappearing rapidly. Now is the time for the conservation and restoration of nature.
The threats facing our planet’s biodiversity are numerous and complex. They can only be addressed by people and organisations working together towards common solutions. It is precisely this collaborative approach that lies at the heart of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, a partnership of 10 organisations dedicated to achieving a sustainable future for all life on Earth. CCI brings together leaders in biodiversity research, practice, policy and teaching to forge novel collaborations addressing this biodiversity crisis.
CCI recognises the imperative for rapid and large-scale action and, through this new Strategy, has set ambitious targets for the next 10 years. During this time CCI will focus on building large ecological restoration projects to bring life back to millions of hectares; strengthening the global infrastructure for conservation through training and; through cross-sectoral collaboration, building expertise in working with nature to heal our fragile planet. CCI’s work to date is already restoring wild landscapes, creating novel methodologies, producing innovative policy recommendations and training a global network to protect and restore nature. CCI has proved that when you bring the right people together within a global initiative, remarkable things do happen.
This is the time for people around the globe to join together to change our future. If we make the right decisions at this critical moment we can safeguard our planet’s ecosystems, its extraordinary biodiversity and all its inhabitants. CCI has a vital role to play in transforming biodiversity conservation to ensure we create a healthy, flourishing and equitable planet for generations to come, and I commend its efforts from the bottom of my heart.”
Sir David Attenborough, CCI Patron
