'Hope-based' conservation narratives can be as important as alarm-based ones. Discuss with reference to recent global biodiversity assessments.

WWF's Living Planet Index (LPI) 2026 reports a 73% average decline across 35,803 monitored vertebrate populations between 1970 and 2022. Yet the report is framed around the "Science of Hope" [1]. Alarm creates urgency, while hope keeps action going. Effective conservation needs both.

Value of alarm-based narratives

• Agenda-setting: Steep declines drew political attention. This helped lead to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) at CBD COP15 in 2022, which set 23 targets for 2030 [2].
• Accountability: Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 (GBO-5) found that none of the 20 Aichi Targets was fully met by 2020 [3]. Exposing this failure pushed countries towards a stronger successor framework.
• Limits: Alarm is easily distorted. Headlines such as "73% of wildlife lost" or "73% of species extinct" are wrong, because the LPI measures an average change in population size [1]. This kind of misreading breeds fatalism and the belief that "nothing works".

Value of hope-based narratives

• Recovery is real: 43% of monitored populations are increasing and 7% are stable [1]. Declines can be reversed where conservation is applied.
• Partial successes: Under Aichi, six targets were partially met, including the protected-area target [3]. Collective effort does deliver results.
• Solutions framing: GBO-5 sets out eight transitions, covering land and forests, agriculture, food systems, fisheries, cities and climate action [3]. This turns despair into an action roadmap.
• Social mobilisation: KMGBF Target 3 ("30x30") recognises the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities [2]. Positive, rights-based stories bring communities in as partners rather than obstacles.

Balancing the two

• Hope without complacency: 50% of populations are still declining [1], so optimism must not dilute urgency.
• Hope tied to action: Parties are aligning their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) with the KMGBF [4]. Hope works best when it is linked to measurable national commitments.

Recent assessments show alarm and hope working together: alarm explains why action is needed, and hope shows that it can succeed. The way forward is accurate science communication that reports declines alongside recoveries, backed by credible NBSAPs. This approach fits the KMGBF's 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature and SDGs 14 and 15.