Biodiversity - the planet's natural capital - is undergoing a dramatic collapse: its 'Sixth Extinction'. The losses, which are due to human activities and overexploitation of the biosphere, are irreversible. They are undermining the basis of future wellbeing and prosperity - including genetic resources and food production, climate stability, and coastal and soil protection. This volume presents an authoritative and alarming analysis of the state of the biosphere. In it, the scientists of the German Advisory Council on Global Change show that the time remaining for remedial action is fast disappearing and they set out a range of initiatives to be undertaken at different levels. Among their main urgent recommendations are: protecting 10-20 per cent of the global land area; an Intergovernmental Panel of Biodiversity to provide scientific advice; conservation of the diversity of cultivated as well as wild plant species; extending bioregional management and nature sponsorship; and, greater multilateral co-operation and implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity. This volume makes a highly significant contribution to the scientific and policy debates on these critical issues. It will be essential reading for those engaged with them.