The session presents evidence on why barriers to family planning (the physical, educational, social and other obstacles preventing women and girls from accessing contraception) are relevant to biodiversity and the long-term sustainability of conservation (in addition to the relevance to health, gender and empowerment). Health data on how small changes in fertility lead to massive reductions in long term population growth, the range of population projections, and the status of family planning as an established human right will be set in a conservation framework. The importance of family planning to IUCN, WHO, and CBD priorities, recent research on the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans of the 69 countries with the greatest barriers to family planning, and other topics will connect family planning provision, drivers of biodiversity loss, and conservation practice in the SDG era. The session conclusion will focus on the action conservationists can take.
