Manage Wild Species Sustainably
Ensure that the management and use of wild species are sustainable, thereby providing social, economic and environmental benefits for people, especially those in vulnerable situations and those most dependent on biodiversity, including through sustainable biodiversity-based activities, products and services that enhance biodiversity, and protecting and encouraging customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.
Does caring for nature mean leaving it alone?
Earth would do fine without us, but here we are. Do we have a role to play in the planet’s wonderful web of life?
Perhaps we are too focused on purpose. Downplaying our role can be liberating. Being insignificant isn’t unique to humans — it is true for many primates. We only exist because we can. Life can be a beautiful gift, but it is only ours if we appreciate and sustain it.
We’re part of nature’s ecosystem and like every other species, we use it to our benefit. But it’s in our interest to find balance — because the story never ends well for invasive species. It is not about giving back exactly as much as we take — it’s about not breaking the system that gives us life.
So yes, it’s okay to hunt animals for food. We have done that for 300.000 years, and it’s been fine. We should, however, do it with compassion. Exploitation never pays off in the end. It’s an unsustainable equation. Much of it comes from having a very large population, but even more from the careless way we use resources.
If we start using nature wisely, the ecosystems will be just fine. Indigenous peoples have done this since the very beginning. They should be our teachers. They understand to treat Earth’s kindness with respect.
If we don’t play within the rules of biodiversity, we are writing our destiny. We’ll be gone, and the planet will go on, converting sunlight into the tiny, shimmering packages of energy called life. It will not end with us.
So, let’s keep hunting for food. But chill out with it, really. We’re pushing many species in our food chains to the brink of extinction. That’s neither nice nor smart. When a species is gone, it’s gone.
Forever.
Sustainable use isn’t optional. It’s how we honor the gift of life — and how we keep ours going.
This target is closely connected to Targets 4, 5, and 11. These go to the heart of sustainability: not whether we use nature, but how.