The WWF 2020 report distilled on earth.org paints a grim picture. I'm particularly worried about the decline in living soil and pollinator populations, but this is not the full picture. It is quite clear that agriculture is the highest impact factor in this. When ecosystems collapse, we also risk the productivity of our agricultural systems. This means more land is needed to feed the population using the established agricultural practices. A vicious cycle that we urgently need to break out of.

Nature as we know it runs on photosynthesis. Even in on the most barren surfaces, with a bit of help, photosynthesis is possible, and can drive the generation of soil, even out of thin air. Plants are also the basis of our food system, so it is not straightforward to come to the conclusion that nature and food production are somehow mutually exclusive. However, that is how modern western society has designed agriculture nonetheless. Several civilizations have found better ways to produce foods, and also in our modern society there are plenty of seeds of a better food system. Permaculture, Syntropic Agrigulture, and Agroforestry are only a few terms that point in this direction.

A more radical approach would be to tax any surface that has irradiant sunlight, yet is not covered in effective photosynthesis. This would avoid barren fields and roofs to grow out of control.