Examples of global declines in nature, emphasizing declines in biodiversity, that have been and are being caused by direct and indirect drivers of change. The direct drivers (land-/sea-use change; direct exploitation of organisms; climate change; pollution; and invasive alien species) result from an array of underlying societal causes. These causes can be demographic (e.g., human population dynamics), sociocultural (e.g., consumption patterns), economic (e.g., trade), technological, or relating to institutions, governance, conflicts and epidemics. They are called indirect drivers and are underpinned by societal values and behaviours. The colour bands represent the relative global impact of direct drivers, from top to bottom, on terrestrial, freshwater and marine nature, as estimated from a global systematic review of studies published since 2005. Land- and sea-use change and direct exploitation account for more than 50 per cent of the global impact on land, in fresh water and in the sea, but each driver is dominant in certain contexts. The circles illustrate the magnitude of the negative human impacts on a diverse selection of aspects of nature over a range of different time scales based on a global synthesis of indicators.

From Figure 2 in: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (2019) Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services.