The sixth mass extinction refers to a current and ongoing period of significant biodiversity loss on Earth, characterized by a rapid and widespread decline in the number of species across multiple ecosystems and biomes. Scientists estimate that species are now disappearing at a rate up to 1,000 times faster than the natural extinction rate, primarily due to human activities such as habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and the introduction of invasive species. This loss of biodiversity not only threatens the survival of individual species, but also undermines the functioning and resilience of ecosystems and the benefits they provide to human societies, such as clean air and water, food, and medicine.