This presentation was given by Robert Scholes, former member of the DIVERSITAS Scientific Committee on the occasion of the DIVERSITAS Celebration on 30 September 2014 in Seville, Spain. Robert (Bob) Scholes is a systems ecologist working at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa. DIVERSITAS is in an international research programme on biodiversity science. Founded in 1991, DIVERSITAS will transition to Future Earth in 2014. Find out more at bit.ly/1sZ2GcB