Maintaining healthy and diverse communities of wildlife and plants is essential for ensuring the long-term health and resilience of ecosystems and sustaining nature’s contributions to people. Yet we are in the middle of a sixth mass extinction, primarily because of human activities such as habitat destruction, overexploitation, invasive species introductions, climate change, and pollution. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted in 1993 to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and its components. Since then, as required by the Convention, member countries have written National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs) to mainstream biodiversity across government and society, reduce the drivers of biodiversity loss, improve the status of species and ecosystems, and build capacity to implement solutions.
As the Senior Scientist, Climate and Biodiversity in the Center for Conservation Innovation at Defenders, Ted works to ensure that the federal government addresses climate change impacts and adaptation for wildlife and ecosystems.