20
Jul
Trump Rule Undercuts Protection of Endangered Species as Biodiversity Decline Escalates at Historic Rate
(Beyond Pesticides, July 20, 2026) Despite the threat of biodiversity collapse on the horizon, the Trump administration last week dramatically weakened the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by redefining the word “harm”—one of the key mitigation measures in slowing the spiraling decline of species diversity, necessary to sustain life. On July 14, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively “the Services”) changed their regulations with the express intention of eliminating protection from actions that impair habitat of wildlife. A nationwide action is asking Congress to restore Endangered Species Act protections. Scientific warning of biodiversity decline has been led by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). In The global assessment report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, published in 2019, IPBES wrote: “Human actions threaten more species with global extinction now than ever before. An average of around 25 per cent of species in assessed animal and plant groups are threatened, suggesting that around 1 million species already face extinction, many within decades, unless action is taken to reduce the intensity of drivers of biodiversity loss. Without such action, there will be a further acceleration in the global rate of species extinction, which is […]
