Biodiversity and Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

Biodiversity -- the variety of life on Earth across its genetic, species, functional, and ecosystem dimensions -- underpins the achievement of multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), from SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) through the ecosystem services that support agricultural productivity, to SDG 6 (Clean Water) through biological water purification, to SDG 13 (Climate Action) through ecosystem carbon sequestration, to SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land) as direct biodiversity conservation goals. Despite repeated calls for SDG integration, the 2030 SDG framework is implemented in largely siloed national action plans -- with biodiversity targets (KM-GBF) treated as separate from poverty, health, and food security targets, missing the evidence-based synergies and trade-offs that integrated planning could exploit. This study provides the first systematic quantification of biodiversity-SDG linkages across all 17 SDGs for 247 countries, using a novel Biodiversity-SDG Interaction Matrix (BSIM) that scores synergies (biodiversity conservation supports SDG achievement) and trade-offs (SDG pursuit harms biodiversity) from empirical evidence synthesis across 1,247 peer-reviewed studies. Strong positive biodiversity-SDG synergies were identified for 11 of 17 SDGs (mean synergy score > 0.50 on a -1 to +1 scale); trade-offs dominated for SDG 2 (agriculture), SDG 7 (energy), SDG 9 (infrastructure), and SDG 11 (cities). Countries with higher biodiversity intactness showed significantly better achievement of SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 3 (Good Health), confirming that biodiversity is a foundation for human development outcomes in lower-income countries in particular.