Regions of high biodiversity value preserve Nature's Contributions to People under climate change

AbstractIncreasing human pressures are driving a global loss of biodiversity and Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP). Here, we estimated how preserving regions of high biodiversity value could reduce the risk of diminishing the provision of NCP. We analysed the impact of four different scenarios of climate change on the regulation of air quality (NCP3), climate (NCP4) and freshwater quantity (NCP6). For each indicator, we evaluated whether risk from environmental change is higher or lower within high biodiversity value regions, compared to control areas. We find higher present and future NCP levels within biodiversity regions, for all indicators. Moreover, air quality and climate regulation indicators will have higher values within biodiversity regions than outside, especially under higher emission scenarios. Understanding the spatial relationship between NCP and biodiversity, and their potential conservation synergies, is essential for sustaining human well-being and securing Earth’s life support systems. Identifying the relative contribution of high biodiversity areas to NCP provision reveals potential synergies between multiple SDGs are substantial.