You might not see it happening. You might not feel it in your daily life. But it’s all around us: biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming rate. Not just in the Netherlands, but across Europe and the world.

And while that might sound like an abstract problem, it has very real consequences for our food, water, air, and health.

The new Statusrapport Nederlandse Biodiversiteit 2025, released by Naturalis Biodiversity Center, paints a picture that’s both deeply local and globally significant.

Let’s talk about it, and more importantly, what we can do together.

🐦 A Wulp and a Wake-up Call

In 2024, the dunbekwulp (slender-billed curlew) was declared extinct in the Netherlands. It’s one of 462 species that once lived here and are now gone forever

And while that might seem like a national tragedy, the pattern is tragically familiar across the planet. Since 1970, populations of wild animals worldwide have declined by an average of 69%, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2024. Europe alone has seen a 33% drop in biodiversity index scores, driven by agriculture, pollution, and habitat fragmentation.

This is not a Dutch problem. It’s a planetary one.

🌍 A Shared Crisis

The Netherlands may be small, but its biodiversity trends reflect broader European patterns:

• 60–70% of EU soils are unhealthy, putting ecosystems and food systems at risk (EU Soil Strategy, 2021).

• Only 15% of European habitats are in a good ecological condition, despite decades of environmental legislation (EEA, 2020).

• The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets ambitious goals, like protecting 30% of land and sea, but progress is slow, and enforcement inconsistent.

The same pressures repeat themselves across borders: intensive agriculture, nitrogen pollution, climate change, and the fragmentation of natural areas.

If biodiversity loss is like erosion, it’s happening everywhere at once.

🇳🇱 A Closer Look at the Netherlands

Back home, the Naturalis report outlines what this looks like on the ground:

• Just 6.5% of Dutch species are reflected in biodiversity policy, even though the country hosts over 47,000 known eukaryotic species

• While wetlands show modest gains, land-based biodiversity continues to decline: especially in agricultural areas.

• Iconic farmland species like butterflies and meadow birds have seen 75% population drops since 1960.

And most of what we know focuses on the tip of the iceberg: vertebrates make up less than 1% of all species, yet dominate monitoring efforts. The vast majority, fungi, insects, nematodes, remain poorly tracked and under-protected.

💡 What We’re Losing (and Why It Matters)

Biodiversity isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s the living infrastructure of our planet. We rely on it for:

• Clean water and healthy soil

• Pollination of our crops

• Pest control and climate regulation

• Mental health, recreation, and resilience

Losing biodiversity means weakening the ecosystems that provide our most basic needs. And that’s true from Portugal to Poland, from the Waddenzee to the Mediterranean.

🧬 The Unseen Majority

What’s even more worrying? The extinction we can’t see.

Microorganisms, fungi, soil invertebrates, and aquatic insects form the foundation of ecosystems—and yet most of these species are neither counted nor protected. In fact, over 90% of species in Europe are either not assessed or lack sufficient data for a Red List status (IUCN Europe, 2022).

But new tools—like environmental DNA (eDNA), AI-assisted observations, and citizen science apps—are opening new doors. They can help us track the invisible, and give voice to the “silent majority” of nature.

🚰 From Soil to Sea: A Continental Challenge

Soils

Whether in Spain, Slovenia or the Netherlands, degraded soils are now the norm. Overuse of pesticides and fertilizers has led to declines in soil biodiversity, threatening not only nature, but our food security.

Freshwater

Across Europe, only 40% of rivers, lakes, and wetlands meet ecological standards. In the Netherlands, that number is just 14%. Contaminants like pesticides, plastics, and pharma residues are disrupting aquatic life everywhere, from mountain springs to urban canals.

Oceans

The North Sea shares species and pressures with the Baltic, the Atlantic, and beyond. Climate-driven range shifts, invasive species, and bottom trawling affect marine life across borders. Europe’s coastlines may differ, but their challenges are eerily similar.

🚦 The Red List Isn’t Just Red, It’s Global

In the Netherlands:

• 45% of assessed species are on the Red List

• 6% are already extinct nationally

• Many more have yet to be counted

Worldwide, the IUCN Red List paints a similar picture: nearly 1 in 3 species is threatened with extinction. And just like in the Netherlands, most species, especially invertebrates and plants, haven’t been assessed at all.

🌱 The Path Forward: Local Roots, Global Reach

We can still turn this around. The science is clear—and the solutions are already here:

1. Protect and restore ecosystems, from forests and dunes to rivers and reefs.

2. Enforce and expand biodiversity-friendly policies, like the EU Nature Restoration Law.

3. Rethink consumption patterns: less waste, more regeneration.

4. Support global conservation networks, and ensure that local projects are connected to global outcomes.

And yes, make mindful choices every day. Through platforms like Terry, even your daily purchases can support biodiversity-positive projects, from Dutch wetlands to rewilded forests abroad.

🌍 Biodiversity Is Everyone’s Business

Biodiversity is the infrastructure of life. Its decline is not just a Dutch problem, or a European one. It’s a global emergency with local consequences and local solutions with global impact.

We don’t need to wait for more data. We don’t need another extinction headline.

We need to act.

Let’s do it, together.

📚 Sources

• Naturalis Biodiversity Center. (2025). Statusrapport Nederlandse Biodiversiteit 2025: https://www.naturalis.nl/over-ons/biodiversiteit/statusrapport

• WWF (2024). Living Planet Report

• European Environment Agency (2020). State of Nature in the EU

• European Commission (2021). EU Soil Strategy for 2030

• IUCN Europe Red List Index (2022)

• Compendium voor de Leefomgeving (CLO): www.clo.nl