Dear friends,

A new report says poachers are now chopping off lions’ faces and paws to sell on the black market — the majestic king of the jungle is already vulnerable and this could push them to the brink.

It’s not just lions. One by one, we’re killing off our wondrous wild neighbours — we’ve wiped out nearly TWO-THIRDS of animal populations in just the last 50 years!

But there’s a way to fix this. Scientists say if we urgently protect half our planet, it will let natural ecosystems recover and regenerate, and give wildlife a chance to thrive. The problem is, their voices alone aren’t being heard — governments listen to people, so it’s our job to bring this emergency recovery plan to their attention.

Avaaz staff will take our voices to top government officials *this week* to ask them to back this plan. Add your name to the global campaign for nature and let’s fight for the future of all species:

Yes, I’ll support the global deal for nature

It’s dire — humanity is taking a chainsaw to the tree of life. Poaching, habitat destruction, climate change — we’re pushing our fellow plants and animals to the edge. And humans too — the UN’s biodiversity chief just said we may become the first species to document our own extinction! We can’t fight this in a silo — we’ve got to transform our relationship to nature before our planet’s life support system collapses.

Good news is that momentum is gaining towards the expert-backed plan to set aside half the land and sea for nature, managing the rest sustainably to provide for human needs, to restore harmony with the planet. But governments need to know the plan is popular.

So it’s on us to make it famous! Governments only agreed to 100% clean energy after we campaigned for years to build a resounding call that was impossible to ignore.

Let’s do the same for nature — add your name as Avaaz staff meet with top negotiators this week, and make sure our kids’ favourite animals live on not just in our imagination:

Yes, I’ll support the global deal for nature

Our movement has campaigned to create massive marine reserves across our global oceans, and gone after poaching rings that threaten elephants and rhinos. From the Amazon to Borneo to the Galapagos, we’ve shown up again and again in defense of our fellow plants and animals that share the planet with us. It’s time to build on all those victories and win a visionary global deal that protects the entire tree of life… before it’s too late.

With hope and determination,

Risalat, Danny, Alice, Rosa, Diego, and the rest of the Avaaz team

MORE INFORMATION:

Lion poaching: the brutal new threat to Africa’s prides (The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/05/lion-poaching-the-brutal-new-threat-to-africas-p…

Animal populations have declined an astonishing 60 percent since 1970 (Vox)
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/10/30/18042150/wwf-living-planet-report-vertebrate-loss

Scientists call for a Paris-style agreement to save life on Earth (The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2018/jun/28/scientists-call-for-a-paris-style-agreement-to-save-life-on-earth

Life on Earth Is Under Assault—But There’s Still Hope (National Geographic)
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/ipbes-biodiversity-report-conservation-climate-change-spd/

Sixth mass extinction: The era of ‘biological annihilation’ (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/11/world/sutter-mass-extinction-ceballos-study/index.html

Could we set aside half the Earth for nature? (The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2016/jun/15/could-we-set-aside-half-the-earth-for-nature