Summer Appeal 2026: Act Now for Nature | Population Matters
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Act Now for Nature

Soil, insects and the ecosystems we depend on are in crisis. Your gift helps fund urgent research, advocacy and rights-based solutions.

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The crisis beneath our feet

Something precious is vanishing from the natural world, and most people don’t even realise it. Soil that once teemed with insects and other vital life is disappearing. And above ground, the world is following suit.

Healthy soil should be alive with earthworms, beetles, ants and countless microscopic organisms. When that hidden life is lost, the damage reaches beyond the wildlife that depend on it. It affects food, water, livelihoods and the communities who depend most directly on the land.

As an ever-growing population increases the demand for land and resources, forests, grasslands and soil systems are being pushed past their limits. The answer is to support rights-based solutions: healthcare, education, reproductive rights and long-term community support.

Your gift today can help fund the research and advocacy needed to protect and support people and planet. And right now, it can go twice as far.

Your donation doubled at no extra cost to you

Every pound you give today is matched.

Two generous supporters have together matched £12,500 for this appeal. Donate today and your gift is doubled — at no extra cost to you.
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Your gift today can help:

  • Fund vital research into how rapid population growth and consumption affect nature
  • Support community-led solutions that sustain habitats, biodiversity, and the people who depend on them
  • Influence governments and policymakers to take meaningful, long-term action
  • Expand access to voluntary family planning and education, supporting people to make informed choices about their own lives while easing pressure on the environment

The Cerrado research below is one example of the kind of evidence-led work donors make possible.

Donor-funded research spotlight

Brazil’s Cerrado

Population Matters’ research helps bring threats like this into the open, showing why action for nature must include people, rights and resources.

One current focus is Brazil’s Cerrado, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, where agricultural expansion has already transformed vast areas of land.

The Cerrado is vital for wildlife, carbon storage, water security and the communities who depend on healthy ecosystems.

Your donation helps make work like this possible: gathering evidence, sharing it with decision-makers and helping more people understand what is at stake.

The Cerrado is being hollowed out

What remains of this extraordinary landscape is already under severe pressure.

47.9% cleared or convertedLand now under anthropogenic use.
Up to 21.7% degradedRemaining native vegetation that may already be degraded.
29.5% remaining native vegetationNot counted in the upper degradation estimate.
0.9% other / roundingResidual area from MapBiomas category totals.

Based on MapBiomas land-cover and degradation data for the 198.5m ha Cerrado biome.

Sources

  1. Natural History Museum, reporting British Trust for Ornithology findings on swift and swallow declines.
  2. The Guardian, reporting Bugs Matter survey results showing a 63% fall in UK bug-splat records between 2021 and 2024.
  3. The Guardian, reporting US research showing beetle numbers fell by 83% over 45 years.
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