Ecological collapse need not be inevitable. British ecologist Tom Crowther explains why.

Another day, another climate crisis. Headlines warning of environmental catastrophe have become a daily fixture. It is not difficult to see why optimism is in short supply, especially after extreme heatwaves of 2026 left London’s parks parched, forests near Bordeaux ablaze and flash floods wiping away villages in Nepal.

But not everyone thinks that an ecological collapse is inevitable. British ecologist Tom Crowther is among the optimists.

In his debut book Nature’s Echo, the maverick scientist – often described as the “Steve Jobs of ecology” – draws on scientific research and encounters from the front lines of restoration to set out a plausible path for nature to recover while tackling the interconnected threats of climate change, biodiversity loss and economic inequality.

Crowther begins his account with a bleak warning: as much as half of
Earth’s ecosystems are on the brink. He explains how we got there through a deceptively simple concept of feedback loops.

Feedback loops shape the fate of complex natural systems, from forests
and food production to societies and global economies. For example, population growth could produce a self-reinforcing loop: more people produce more ideas and labour, supporting higher productivity and still larger populations. This is how humanity expanded its footprint from North Africa right across the planet.

Healthy ecosystems can absorb remarkable levels of disturbance, including those caused by humanity’s expanding footprint. Forests, soil, wetlands and oceans recover from severe environmental damage through their interactions with different species, nutrient cycles and regeneration processes.

Yet no system is permanently stable. Even the most balanced system can tip into a new state when positive feedback loops start to spiral out of control. And that’s exactly what’s happening today.

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