What is the Half-Earth Project?

The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation’s mission is to reimagine the way we care for our planet. The core program of the foundation, the Half-Earth Project, inspires informed collective action to save the biosphere, the land and waters that global biodiversity depends upon.

The ongoing mass extinction of the natural world ranks with pandemics, world wars, and climate change as among the greatest threats that humanity has imposed upon itself. Biodiversity loss was ranked as the third most severe threat humanity will face in the next 10 years in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2022. To lose so much of Earth’s biodiversity is to both destroy our living heritage, and to risk the stability of the planet today and for all future generations.

In order to safeguard a sufficient number of species to protect global biodiversity, including humanity, the late American biologist, E.O. Wilson and a new generation of scientists, ecologists, and conservationists concluded that we must set aside roughly half of Earth’s land and seas for nature, known as the principle of “Half-Earth.”

The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation supports the goal of protecting half of the land and sea in order to manage sufficient habitat and reverse the species extinction crisis, ensuring the long-term health of our planet. The Half-Earth Project is bringing this goal to life. Learn more about our programs.