Biodiversity 2100

Problem

Biodiversity loss is one of the most pressing and underestimated crises of our time. It’s not just an environmental issue — it’s a direct risk to our economy, food security, and social stability.

Following the principle that “less bad is not good,” incremental improvements and half-measures are not enough to address this crisis. To spark meaningful action, we need new, critical, perspectives that transform the abstract consequences of biodiversity loss into tangible realities. This way, we can open up discussions about how to better protect and preserve our natural resources.

Idea

Using speculative design methods, this project challenges us to explore the future of biodiversity through two extreme but plausible scenarios set in the year 2100. By placing a utopian and a dystopian outcome side by side, the contrast between them encourages viewers to draw their own conclusions about the choices we make today and their long-term impact on life on our planet, inviting them to engage in critical discourse.

Solution

The Last Species Museum – Experience nature as it once was.

In the dystopian scenario, biodiversity has almost disappeared from the earth. Outside of a few isolated institutions such as »The Last Species Museum«, nature exists only as a distant memory. Here, the last surviving species are exhibited and in some cases preserved in glass cases. The museum offers visitors a last look at the natural world, which has now become a luxury good. The exhibits reflect humanity’s failure to deal with the environmental degradation caused by pollution, deforestation and climate change. In this world, nature has become a relic, accessible only to those who can afford to see its remains.

Carbon Crimes Museum – Experience our past mistakes with all your senses.

The utopian scenario, on the other hand, offers a hopeful alternative. In this future, humanity has succeeded in reversing environmental damage. By 2100, waste and emissions are a part of the past, and ecosystems have fully recovered. The »Carbon Crimes Museum« displays the mistakes of the Carbon Age: the last plastic bottles, a walk-in cruise ship and even working chainsaws that were once used to cut down virgin forests. Unlike the dystopian museum, this facility is open to everyone. It serves as both a historical archive and a celebration of humanity’s ability to change, to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated.

Biodiversity 2100


Both scenarios are part of the »Biodiversity 2100« campaign, which is already taking place in the present. Using social media and a dedicated website, the campaign contrasts the two future scenarios and invites the public to think about the choices we need to make today. The juxtaposition of these possible outcomes serves as a reminder that the future is not predetermined. It is shaped by our actions, our policies and our priorities in the present.