A risk framework for addressing nature's harmful contributions to people

Conserving Earth's ecosystems is critical for sustaining human life, yet some aspects of living nature can harm people, such as insect vectors of human disease and venomous animals. Nature's contributions to people (NCPs) that cause harm are a contentious issue in biodiversity research and policy, with limited agreement on how they should be assessed or managed. We therefore propose a new conceptual framework for assessing and managing harmful NCPs that draws parallels with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's concept of climate risk. We argue that the risks of harmful NCPs should be understood as arising from the intersection of the hazardous aspects of ecosystems (ecosystem hazards) with societal exposure and vulnerability. Our risk-based approach equips decision-makers with a framework to systematically identify solutions for avoiding societal harms, while preventing maladaptive interventions that can undermine sustainability goals and degrade ecosystems. We conclude by outlining priority next steps for operationalizing our framework.