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Dear Readers,
Biodiversity is misunderstood. Too often, it gets narrowed down to images of wildlife, forests or a species count. Reality is, biodiversity is the living fabric that underpins entire ecosystems and shapes how we grow food, manage water, respond to climate change and safeguard our health.
This broader understanding runs through the stories of local action and project initiatives featured in this issue of the Indo-German Biodiversity Programme newsletter, released on the International Day for Biological Diversity with theme Acting locally for global impact. From efforts to strengthened preparedness against zoonotic spillovers in the Western Ghats and forest fires in the Himalayas, to women-led forest enterprises, sustainable value chains and emerging pathways for wetland climate finance. These may appear to be separate, but they are all biodiversity stories.
This edition also revisits an important question: what is nature worth? The Economics of Ecosystem and Biodiversity (TEEB) India Initiative’s factsheets and Let’s Invest in Nature video series featured in our Timeless Publications section remind us that healthy ecosystems are not external, but rather essential, to economies. The 14 cases presented show how forests, wetlands and coastal ecosystems generate immense value through pollination, water regulation, fisheries, climate resilience and disaster protection. Benefits that often remain invisible until they are lost.
As biodiversity increasingly intersects with climate action, development and public health, the need to think in terms of interconnected ecosystems, rather than isolated environmental issues, has never been more important.
Warmly,
Kunal Bharat,
Guest Editor
Project Manager, National Electronic People's Biodiversity Registers (e-PBR) Project, GIZ
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