- Marie Maurel, Head of Water and Biodiversity Activities – BIRDZ
- Sandrine Oberti, Director of Scientific Valorization – DEST (Veolia Research & Innovation)
Biodiversity is declining steeply, with 75% of terrestrial ecosystems and 40% of marine ecosystems degraded, a situation that threatens a million species with extinction, largely as a result of human activities (IPBES 2019, IUCN 2021). Biodiversity is vital for regulating the climate and protecting against natural disasters. Preserving biodiversity requires constant automated monitoring to overcome the drawbacks of the manual inventories traditionally used in the past. Ecosystem health and human health are inextricably linked, as underlined by the One Health concept. This approach recognizes their interdependence and seeks to achieve a balance between the health of people, animals and ecosystems. The deterioration of natural habitats can facilitate the emergence of zoonotic diseases that impact human health directly. Monitoring and preserving biodiversity thus helps to prevent future health crises (WHO).
