Biodiversity conservation

By Kishanth Prabhakaran

It's our strongest natural defence against climate change and we support partnerships and business that prioritise biodiversity

The UK now has less than half of its biodiversity intact because of human activity and is classified as one of the most nature-depleted countries, according to the State of Nature report 2023.

Since the 1970, UK’s Natural diversity has witnessed around a 20 percent decline in species abundance (The State of Nature report 2023). Urgent efforts to arrest further Biodiversity decline and restore habitats are paramount, as Biodiversity remains our strongest natural defence against Climate Change (United Nations, 2022).

For instance, Peatlands are Natural carbon sinks capable of sequestering Carbon di oxide from the atmosphere, providing a net-cooling effect while preserving air quality (Salimi, Almuktar and Scholz, 2021). More than 50% of the World’s GDP is dependent on Biodiversity and the ecosystem services rendered by nature, pointing towards an existential threat to the global economy (UNEP 2022).

Biodiversity faces a significant ‘Nature Funding Gap’, estimated to be as high as US$ 824 Billion per year, which cannot be solely addressed by public funding (Deutz and M. Heal, 2020). Investments in Biodiversity in the form of ‘Nature-based Solutions’ and ‘Green Finance’ provide an opportunity for institutional investors to address critical Biodiversity challenges while generating financial returns (Hudson, Hart and Verbeek, 2023).

Nature-based solutions differ from ‘Grey Solutions’, which are used to refer to engineered structures and technological solutions such as floodwalls and dams. Technological solutions face challenges in the form of limited adaptability and high maintenance, and in some cases have a detrimental impact on the environment (Huesemann, 2003).

Nature based solutions on the other hand, involve working with nature to address environmental challenges such as biodiversity loss through habitat restoration (Ex: Wetland restoration, wildlife corridors etc), Sustainable Land management (Ex: Crop rotation, soil mulching etc).

For instance, Cairngorms Connect is the UK’s biggest habitat restoration project using Nature-based solutions such as peatland restoration and sustainable land management, in collaboration with local communities in the vicinity of Cairngorm National Park in Northeast Scotland (Inter-Agency Climate Change Group, 2021).

References

1. Burns, F, Mordue, S and al Fulaij, N (2023). STATE OF NATURE 2023 PARTNERSHIP. [online] Available at: https://stateofnature.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2023/09/TP25999-State-of-Nature-main-report_2023_FULLDOC-v12.pdf.

2. United Nations (2022b). Biodiversity - our strongest natural defense against climate change. [online] United Nations. Available at: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/biodiversity.

3. Salimi, S., Almuktar, S.A.A.A.N. and Scholz, M. (2021). Impact of climate change on wetland ecosystems: A critical review of experimental wetlands. Journal of Environmental Management, 286, p.112160. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112160.

4. IPBES (2019). Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services | IPBES. [online] Ipbes.net. Available at: https://www.ipbes.net/globalassessment.

5. Deutz, A., Heal, G. M., Niu, R., Swanson, E., Townshend, T., Zhu, L., Delmar, A., Meghji, A., Sethi, S. A., and Tobinde la Puente, J. 2020. Financing Nature: Closing the global biodiversity financing gap. The Paulson Institute, The Nature Conservancy, and the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.

6. Hudson, G., Hart, S. and Verbeek, A. (2023). Investing in nature-based solutions State-of-play and way forward for public and private financial measures in Europe. [online] Available at: https://www.eib.org/attachments/lucalli/20230095_investing_in_nature_based _solutions_en.pdf.

7. Huesemann, M. (2003). The limits of technological solutions to sustainable development. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 5, pp.21–34. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s1009800201738.

8. Inter-Agency Climate Change Group (IACCG) (2021). Cairngorms Connect | JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation. [online] Jncc.gov.uk. Available at: https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/cairngorms-connect/#environmentaland-societal-benefits.