Media release – 1 September 2026
Biosphere Expeditions calls for radical truth-telling, conservation triage and unvarnished realism in the face of escalating planetary calamities.
International wildlife conservation organisation Biosphere Expeditions has launched a “Manifesto for a troubled planet” confronting the reality of global climate and ecological disruptions. The document calls on scientists, conservationists and the public to abandon “performative hope” and comforting narratives, demanding instead an era of unvarnished truth-telling, hard-headed conservation triage and direct citizen science action on a finite planet.
The release comes as climate disruption is now locked in, planetary boundaries are breached, ecosystems face irreversible tipping points and conventional conservation approaches continue to celebrate minor successes while ignoring systemic biosphere unravelling.
Dire State of the Planet
Dr Matthias Hammer, CEO of Biosphere Expeditions and author of the Manifesto, says that “for decades, the conservation and volunteering sectors have told comforting stories of ‘saving the planet’, Biosphere Expeditions included. It is now obvious that this was unwarranted positivity that sought to reassure the public that small lifestyle adjustments and feelgood stories will somehow reverse planetary overshoot”. He adds that “the state of our planet demands that we stop pretending. We are living through an era of climate, ecological and societal upheavals, as well as unprecedented species and habitat loss. Pretending that business-as-usual can arrest this decay is dishonest. We must drop the brave face, speak the unvarnished truth about what is being lost and apply rigorous ecological triage to save what can still function”.
Not Gloom but Profound Meaning
“Far from being a gloomy exercise, the changes we are making provide profound meaning and integrity to our conservation work going forward“, Hammer explains. “They ensure that our work is not merely a symbolic gesture in a losing battle, but a targeted intervention that gives functional ecosystems a fighting chance to make it through the global transition period we have entered”, Hammer concludes.
Core Pillars of the Manifesto
The manifesto sets out an uncompromising framework:
Confronting Planetary Breakdown: Conservation must begin by acknowledging the full scale of ecological collapse, resource depletion and climate disruption without sugarcoating outcomes or hiding behind public relations spin.
Eliminating Performative Hope: Comforting narratives and artificial success stories must be dismantled. True resilience requires accepting uncomfortable truths rather than offering false reassurance to maintain institutional funding.
Enforcing Ecological Triage: With scarce time and limited resources, conservationists must apply hard-headed triage principles to create biodiversity refugia that have a chance of enduring through the coming upheavals. Effort and capital must be concentrated where intervention can genuinely preserve functioning ecosystems rather than be wasted on performative gestures in irrecoverable biomes.
Citizen Science Action as Authentic Bearing of Witness: Citizen science must shift from a reassuring activity driven by a consumer mindset and “saving the planet” feelgood stories into an active, uncompromising tool for ground-level ecological defence, triage and refugia creation, as well as bearing witness to environmental decline.
Biosphere Expeditions’ Pivot
To align its operational structure with the Manifeto’s principles, Biosphere Expeditions will, over the next 12 months, evolve expeditions towards conservation triage, refugia creation and empowering local stewards.
“Since 1999 Biosphere Expeditions has delivered tangible, lasting conservation achievements across four continents – from protected areas established and species safeguarded to local communities empowered”, says Hammer. “However, with the planet slipping deeper into crisis despite the conservation efforts of many, we have taken decisive further steps. With these, Biosphere Expeditions now stands entirely alone in the volunteering world on many levels: We have purged all commercialism from our operations, organising our expeditions as a non-commercial covenant between consenting adults. We reject ‘save the planet’ hopewashing as well as corporate sponsorship and do not engage in flight offset fig-leaving any longer. We have a vegetarian expedition policy, a one-expedition-one-report rule and now focus strictly on ecological triage while maintaining a defined exit strategy for when an expedition reaches its goals or international air travel contracts”, Hammer explains.
Forthcoming Book
Dr Matthias Hammer and his daughter Liesl Hammer’s forthcoming book “Musings on the Brink: The Failure of Conservation and the End of a Stable Biosphere – what it Means for Humanity and Conservation Organisations such as Biosphere Expeditions” will develop the Manifesto’s core principles in detail and explore related topics.
The book is scheduled for publication on 11 October 2027 – Dr. Hammer’s 60th birthday.
The Path Ahead for Biosphere Expeditions
“The Manifesto sets out Biosphere Expeditions’ path ahead. None of this is a PR stunt, fake news, alarmist or a media gimmick; it is deadly serious, matching the gravity of humanity’s situation”, Hammer adds.
“The overarching purpose of all this is to create, extend and empower resilient local networks so that they can protect or rebuild refugia wherever possible after the upheavals, which I believe lie ahead.”
Clarity, Focus, Honesty and Purpose
“These actions cut through the noise of collapse and decline, bringing clarity, focus, honesty and purpose to everything we do from now on. Volunteering with Biosphere Expeditions thus becomes an act of active nature stewardship, moral clarity, strategic courage and empowerment. I am deeply grateful to anyone who will join us in this endeavour while we still have time”, Hammer concludes.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Media contact: Dr. Matthias Hammer, m.hammer@biosphere-expeditions.org
Biosphere Expeditions is a visionary wildlife conservation non-profit organisation driven by science and citizen scientists and grounded in its Manifesto for a Troubled Planet. Unique in the volunteering world on multiple levels, it bypasses conventional conservation orthodoxy to focus on ecological triage, refugia creation and local stewardship, directing resources where species and habitats have a genuine chance of survival. A member of the IUCN, the UN Environment Programme and the European Citizen Science Association, Biosphere Expeditions has purged all commercialism from its operations, organising expeditions as a non-commercial covenant between consenting adults. They reject “save the planet” hopewashing as well as corporate sponsorship and do not engage in flight offset fig-leaving. They have a vegetarian expedition policy, a one-expedition-one-report rule and a defined exit strategy for when an expedition reaches its goals or international air travel contracts. Working side-by-side with local conservationists and communities since 1999, their hands-on field research champions radical, science-backed change, delivering proven results – the creation of protected areas on four continents is just one example of its many achievements.
Citizen science is defined as “public participation in scientific research”. It is an important vehicle for democratising science and promoting the goal of universal and equitable access to scientific data and information. In addition, data generated by citizen science groups have become an increasingly important source for scientists, applied users and those pursuing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In nature conservation in particular, international citizen science has become increasingly important as a duel stream of data and funding.
RESOURCES
- The Manifesto online.
- Online press pack with image library, press releases & news, press trip information, etc.
- Full list of forthcoming expeditions (press trip offers available 4-8 weeks in advance).
- Annual Biosphere Expeditions Magazines with stories from the field, achievements, etc.