Preserving Biodiversity Is Not A Cause, It Is The Key To Our Own Survival
Learn more about biodiversity, what is being done to protect it, and what you can do to help.
Written by Victoria Kent, Senior Investment Specialist
This information does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider if the relevant investment is appropriate having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs.
You may have heard a bit about biodiversity recently. From the Australian government’s State of the Environment report and the UK’s Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity; to the historic deal struck at the Conference of the Parties (COP) on Biological Diversity (COP15).
By now we are quite familiar with the concept of COPs as they relate to climate change, but COP15 saw a different group of people discussing a different but closely related issue for our planet: biodiversity.
What is biodiversity and what is at risk?
Biodiversity is variability among living organisms from all sources in our natural world including animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms like bacteria. Each of these species and organisms work together in ecosystems, like an intricate web, to maintain balance and support life. According to the World Wildlife Organisation:
Biodiversity supports everything in nature that we need to survive: food, clean water, medicine, and shelter.
Unfortunately, the global rate of species extinction is at least 10-100 times greater than the average over the last 10 million years. According to the landmark Global Assessment Report (2019) by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the great majority of indicators of ecosystems and biodiversity are showing rapid decline.
1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction—the highest number in human history. This was confirmed in the WWF’s 2022 Living Planet Report, which found an average 69% decline in global populations of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians since just the 1970s.
The most recent State of the Environment report showed an ongoing degradation of soil and water and fauna and flora in Australia.
"The state and trend of the environment of Australia are poor and deteriorating as a result of increasing pressures from climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and resource extraction.”
How do humans affect biodiversity?
Human activity threatens biodiversity in two ways. The first will be obvious to anyone who ever found a possum in their backyard: habitat loss and degradation. Combine this with the introduction of invasive species, and it’s easy to connect our human impacts with biodiversity.
The second way human activity threatens biodiversity is overexploitation (overfishing, overhunting and overharvesting) for things like food, medicines and timber. The Royal Society estimates this to account for 20% of biodiversity loss. Climate change is the third most significant direct driver of biodiversity loss, which together with pollution accounts for 14%.
Invasive alien species account for 11% of biodiversity loss. As an Aussie, I can’t help but wonder just what the first settlers were thinking?! Indigenous Australians had lived alongside native fauna for tens of thousands of years, yet in a relatively short amount of time, colonialists introduced hundreds of invasive species. It resulted in the extinction of some native animals (Tasmanian devil) and the proliferation of feral pigs, goats, cats, camels and even water buffalo.
But it's not just animals. Fungi and bacteria are also invasive species and affect many native plants, animals and agricultural crops. And let's not get started on the notorious red foxes and cane toads.
What's being done about biodiversity loss?
Thankfully, a lot is being done. The Convention on Biological Diversity developed a Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).This framework was the successor to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, developed in 2010 and widely considered to not have been met. It sets out an ambitious plan to implement broad-based action to bring about a transformation in society’s relationship with biodiversity, ensuring that by 2050 the shared vision of ‘living in harmony with nature’ is fulfilled.
Promisingly, the framework was formally adopted at COP15. It outlines 23 targets, including the catchy ’23 Targets by 2030’ – 23 targets to achieve by 2030, including:
“Effective conservation and management of at least 30 per cent of the world's land, coastal areas and oceans.”
What does this mean for business?
Just like with climate, if we have any hope of reversing the damage, companies must be involved.
Nature is undeniably an asset.
“As stewards of global capital, investors are uniquely positioned to help build an economy that works with, rather than against, nature. [Investors] can help shift capital flows away from businesses and projects that degrade the natural environment, towards regenerative and circular initiatives”. – Laurent Ramsey, prominent investor
For investors to invest in companies that work with nature, there needs to be a common language for businesses to report on nature risk; a way to monitor, assess, disclose their risks, dependencies, and impacts on biodiversity. Enter the first science-based targets for nature, which will build on and complement existing climate targets. These targets “take the guesswork out of what we need to do, by whom, by when, how much”, says CEO of Conservation International M. Sanjayan.
How do the science-based targets for nature relate to the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)?
Science Based Target Nework (SBTN) and the TNFD share the same vision: transforming business models toward a nature-positive economy, based on the best available science. SBTN is equipping companies with the guidance to set science-based targets for nature. TNFD, in turn, is working to create a framework for companies and financial institutions to manage and disclose their nature-related risks.
SBTN and TNFD are actively working together (SBTN is one of 16 TNFD Knowledge Partners) to ensure alignment in the way those nature-related risks are understood, framed, and addressed by companies and financial institutions, so they can incorporate nature into their decision-making processes in the most impactful and efficient way.
Nature reform in Australia
The Government is reforming Commonwealth environmental laws, including offset requirements. It will legislate a new National Environmental Standard to ensure offsets are a last resort and, if required, will more than compensate for the impacts of development. The new national standard for environmental offsets will determine which types of projects could compensate for development impacts. The new standard is currently under development and will be released for public consultation later in 2023.
How on earth do you measure biodiversity risk?
FairSupply, in conjunction with Sydney University PhD candidate Amana Irwin, have developed a nifty extinction risk footprinting tool for companies to measure their supply chain impact on species extinction.
Their Integrated Assessment Engine quantifies extinction risk within supply chains or investment portfolios to identify the locations most impacted by an entity. They can identify the extinction risk footprint associated with a business's direct operations, supply chains, and investment portfolio.
What can you do?
Sadly, the "beer for cane toads" initiative is no longer running, but there is still a lot you can do to protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of ecosystems, sustainably managed forests, halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss.
Finally, in the words of David Attenborough:
“…putting things right will take collaborative action by every nation on earth. It will require international agreements to change our ways. Each ecosystem has its own vulnerabilities and requires its own solutions. There has to be a universally shared understanding of how these systems work, and how those that have been damaged can be brought back to health”.
Things to do:
Find a Goal 15 charity you want to support. Any donation, big or small, can make a difference.
Don’t shop for pets! Visit your local animal shelter and adopt an animal there.
Recycle paper, glass, plastic, metal and old electronics.
Clean your local parks and forests. Organise your own or join an existing clean-up event to sustain the ecosystem of your local green space.
Volunteer with street animal organisations or shelters. Help to sustain diversity and save lives of animal species by volunteering in organisations helping these pets as well as endangered species.
Reduce your use of paper. Avoid printing and substitute it with electronic devices or carriers.
Don’t buy products tested on animals. Check the labels on the products you buy.
Compost. Composting food scraps can reduce climate impact while also recycling nutrients.
Don’t use pesticides. To protect and sustain the quality of soil, don’t use chemicals while growing plants.
Stay informed. Follow your local news and stay in touch with the Global Goals online or on social media at @TheGlobalGoals.
Source: www.globalgoals.org/goals/15-life-on-land/#things-to-do