Why biodiversity loss matters and what Harvard is doing about it

A new video from Harvard University's Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability features Professor Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Director of the Harvard University Herbaria (HUH), making the case that the climate and biodiversity crises must be tackled together, not in isolation.

Cavender-Bares, whose research focuses on the physiological and evolutionary dimensions of plant ecology and how they influence ecosystem function, warns that treating the two crises as separate problems risks making both worse.

In the video, she highlights the critical role forests play in carbon absorption and biodiversity, while noting difficult trade-offs — such as whether to clear forests to install solar panels.

The HUH houses more than five million specimens of plants, fungi, algae, and lichens dating back to the early 1800s — collections she describes as essential anchors of global biodiversity knowledge.

Cavender-Bares has also been involved in launching Harvard's Biodiversity and Planetary Stewardship initiative through the Salata Institute, connecting science directly to climate policy at the highest levels.