Half-Earth is the goal of expanding nature preserves to 50% of the Earth’s surface to stop mass extinction 

Entomologist Edward Osborne (EO) Wilson and journalist Tony Hiss coined the term ‘Half-Earth’ in 2014, building on similar efforts by the Wildlands Network and the WILD Foundation since the 1990s. Conservationists in these two organizations had been inspired by Wilson’s research on island biogeography in the 1960s, where he and Robert MacArthur formulated a mathematical relationship between biodiversity and territory based on the fourth root. Decades later, Wilson and other activists realized that nature preserves had become islands of biodiversity in a sea of human-modified landscapes. If a mere 10% of ecosystems are protected in parks then only 56% (i.e. 4√0.1) of species would survive, while conserving 50% — Half-Earth — would safeguard 84% of the world’s biodiversity (4√0.5).

To find room for Half-Earth it is necessary to tackle three problems: meat consumption, the territorial footprint of renewable energy systems, and the conservation movement’s colonial past. The livestock industry occupies far more land than any other sector of the world economy, making it the greatest driver of the extinction crisis. Renewables have a low ‘power density’ (W/m2) compared to fossil fuels, which means that they can require a lot of space. Since nature preserves, the meat industry, and renewable energy are already making competing claims on scarce land, we must fight to prevent Indigenous Peoples and other marginalized populations from being displaced. Environmental and conservation groups have to do more to atone for their often dark past and build alliances with Indigenous peoples and the environmental justice movement. A goal as ambitious as Half-Earth cannot be realized in isolation of the global agricultural and energy sectors, and without the support of a diverse, international, and radical coalition.

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• The WILD Foundation’s Nature Needs Half campaign 

• EO WIlson’s Half-Earth project 

• WWF Living Planet Report (WWF) 

• Land Use (Our World in Data)

• Sierra Club apologizes for racist views of ‘father of national parks’ John Muir (The Guardian)

• As an individual, significantly – or even completely – cut down on animal products and as a member of a community push for vegan food to be the default choice – be it at work, school, or an activist occupation.

• Join a local or global conservation organization that is working to protect biodiverse spaces, rewild ecosystems by introducing extirpated species, and improve connectivity between nature preserves.

• Support politicians and policies seeking to reduce energy consumption (e.g., carless cities, efficient appliances, passive housing, and train travel) so that less renewable infrastructure is needed.

• Learn about and reflect on historical episodes when the environmental movement collaborated with racist authorities at the expense of marginalized groups.