Threats to Boulder’s Ecosystem and Biodiversity

Last week, a UN report was released by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) on threats to global biodiversity which said that one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction and that nature everywhere is declining at a speed never previously seen, with our need for ever more food and energy being the main drivers.

The City of Boulder has been also paying attention to threats to our local biodiversity. An interdepartmental city team spent last year assessing the risks to Boulder’s ecosystems and they also released a report last week.

We speak with Scott Hoffman Black, the Executive Director of the Xerces Society and a world authority on conservation and adaptation to climate change. He serves as the chair of multiple IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) subgroups and he worked with Boulder employees on the local report. We also speak with Rella Abernathy and Brett KenCairn who are part of the team working on the city’s integrated ecosystems strategy.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download