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TOP STORY

Trader accreditation, price floor needed to help govern scaled-up biodiversity market -report

Special trader accreditations, a price floor on credits, and potential sellers’ clubs that guarantee high-quality supply are some of the elements proposed by Geneva-based non-profit NatureFinance and the Taskforce on Nature Markets to help govern a scaled-up market for biodiversity credits.

MARKET

GEF-led group urges governments to help build, drive voluntary nature certificate market

Biodiversity-positive carbon credits and nature certificates can play a key role in closing the biodiversity funding gap, but governments and policymakers should support the development and scaling-up of the market, according to a high-level working group led by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

GreenCollar Group expects first NaturePlus credit issuance at the end of next month

Australian crediting developer GreenCollar Group expects the inaugural issuance of its world-first NaturePlus biodiversity credit at the end of next month, as the Australian government extends the consultation period on its nature repair market.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Biodiversity and climate goals converging with private sector “front and centre” -experts

Speakers at the One Forest Summit that began on Wednesday in Gabon described the converging of nature and climate goals and outlined their view that the private sector will assume a leading role in channeling finance to nascent biodiversity markets.

Major asset managers not investing responsibly for people and planet -report

The majority of the world’s largest asset managers that together control over $77 trillion of assets are not investing responsibly and are failing to protect the climate, biodiversity, and people, a report by the responsible investment NGO ShareAction has found.

Australian philanthropy group commits A$240 mln to ocean conservation, R&D efforts

An Australian philanthropic organisation has committed A$35 million ($23.6 mln) to safeguard some 18 million square kilometres of global ocean biodiversity, as part of a wider A$240 mln pledge made to ocean conservation and research.

Australia strikes ocean eDNA biodiversity partnership with major philanthropic group

The Australian government has teamed up with the Minderoo Foundation to track threatened marine species through environmental DNA (eDNA) technology, an approach some are pushing to use as a foundation for countries to earn biodiversity credits through Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

Asian investor group launches deforestation initiative

A major Asian investor organisation on Tuesday launched an initiative to support regional investors in developing risk management processes and investment policies to help ending deforestation.

POLICY

UK risks biodiversity funding shortfall with ministers facing “difficult choices” -govt

The UK will face significant challenges to fund its biodiversity and net gain plans with ministers expected to face “tough choices”, according to a senior civil servant speaking at an event Friday.

MARKET

Looking bad – The New South Wales state government in Australia plans to use a controversial reconstruction technique to offset up to a quarter of the endangered bushland that it will clear to make way for a massive housing expansion around Sydney. The plan has been branded by experts as “high risk at best, if not almost certain to fail”, reports the Guardian. The government announced last year it had approved the Cumberland plain conservation plan, a major planning policy that will guide the development of four new urban growth areas and up to 73,000 houses from Penrith to Wilton over 35 years. Meanwhile, the NSW government confirmed this week plans to hold its second reverse auction for biodiversity offsets under the scheme in mid-March.

Come and get it – In the UK, Severn Trent has extended its forest creation fund offer to give farmers and landowners in the Midlands the chance to plant woodlands on smaller sites of 2.2-5 acres. The scheme’s extension, for parcels of land over 10 acres, aims to help enhance biodiversity and soil health on unproductive land in the water firm’s catchment areas. Severn Trent covers the planning and sourcing of trees, before the farmer or landowner plants them. They then receive annual payments of £800 per acre to contribute to maintenance for 10 years. (Farming UK)

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Just getting started – The Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) has started its first regional activity under the Caribbean Regional Architecture for Biodiversity (CRAB) project, St. Vincent Times reports. CRAB is a 5-year, €7-mln programme funded by France, Germany, and CBF that will focus on capacity-building on issues such as sustainable finance mechanisms for conservation trust funds and various biodiversity conservation topics, according to the paper.

More funding – Synchronicity Earth and the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance on Feb. 27 launched the Neptune Fund, an expendable endowment fund that will enable donors to provide long-term support to locally-led and grassroots organisations working with ocean conservation. Focussing on Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and the East Indian Ocean, the Neptune Fund will allow both capital and income to be spent on conservation, plugging the gaps left by more traditional fundraising approaches. It will initially support Bengal Elasmo Lab (Alifa Haque), Save Andaman Network, and Piku Biodiversity Network.

Marine disaster – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Mar. 1 confirmed the presence of “black and thick” oil with strong odour in the waters off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro after motor tanker (MT) Princess Empress capsized there. The sighting of the black and thick oil raised fears that the cargoes containing 800,000 litres of industrial oil onboard MT Princess Empress when it sank on Feb. 28, have already spilled. The features of the oil were different compared to the thin particles from the diesel of the tanker that caused the initial oil spill. The PCG said they also found the possible source of the black oil at 7.4 nautical miles southwest off Balingawan Point, near the area where MT Princess Empress sank. (Manila Bulletin)

POLICY

Win some, lose some – The UK government announced Tuesday that it will provide the highest levels of protection for three marine areas in English waters. The three Highly Protected Marine Areas, which are part of Britain’s Environmental Improvement Plan, will ban fishing and dredging as early as July to increase “marine biodiversity and support climate-resilient ecosystems to thrive”. While the government settled on three protected areas, it had considered five. Two sites – Lindisfarne and Inner Silver Pit South – were not designated, drawing criticism from conservationists who called the commitments “disappointing”. (UPI)

Success – In Australia, Nari Nari Tribal Council (NNTC) and the NSW government have signed a historic agreement that secures the permanent protection and sustainable management of more than 55,000 hectares of land at Gayini under the ownership and stewardship of its Traditional Custodians, according to the Nature Conservancy. NSW Minister for Environment James Griffin said this is the largest parcel of land ever protected through a funded conservation agreement with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT).

SCIENCE & TECH

Keep the bees busy – Greater biodiversity yields greater ecosystem resilience. Despite the overwhelming acceptance of this concept, called the “insurance hypothesis”, validation for it has been sparse. A detailed study led by researchers at Rutgers University of wild bee species in fruit crops, however, has provided clear data showing that diversity in these vital pollinators is necessary for consistent flower cross-fertilisation over multiple years. For the study, the researchers identified which wild bee species were visiting blossoms over a three-year span on 16 blueberry farms in the eastern US and 36 watermelon farms in the western US as well as over a six-year span on 25 watermelon farms in the eastern US. The three- and six-year datasets provided a clear picture of the changeover in wild-bee pollinators. On the blueberry farms, the number of species needed to maintain a threshold level of pollination was 47% higher over a three-year span versus a single year. On watermelon farms, the number of needed species was 62% higher over three years versus one year, and 219% over a six-year span versus a single year. (Entomology Today)

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