The National Geographic Society is an impact-driven global nonprofit organization that pushes the boundaries of exploration, furthering understanding of our world and empowering us all to generate solutions for a healthy, more sustainable future for generations to come. Our ultimate vision:Â a planet in balance.
Visit National GeographicOUR CHALLENGE
The world we have celebrated for more than 130 years is now under threat to a degree that the Society’s founders could not have imagined. When the Society was established in 1888, there were roughly 1.5 billion people on the planet. There are now over 7.6 billion people, resulting in unprecedented negative human impacts on the world’s species and ecosystems.
By some estimates, our current resource demands are already 1.5 times what the planet can provide. According to a UN forecast, by 2050 there will be an additional 2 billion people, bringing the demands on the Earth’s renewable resources to almost three times what it can sustain. As a result, we are in the process of dismantling the major ecosystems that are essential to maintaining not only the world’s human cultures, but also all life on Earth.
WORKING TOWARD A PLANET IN BALANCE
Achieving a planet in balance, one that provides for humanity and the untold millions of other species with which we live, will be the greatest challenge of our century.
We believe the Society can best contribute to achieving a planet in balance through the following three strategic aims:
- Inspire people to place greater value on the natural world and its people;
- Secure the natural systems essential for all life on Earth; and
- Drive innovation that helps create a planet in balance.
Ultimately, all of our activities are geared toward achieving at least one of our three strategic aims.
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