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TOP STORY
Agreement on high-level principles needed before scaling biodiversity credit market -experts
Anchoring high-level principles that will underpin voluntary biodiversity credits is needed before more technical details can be ironed out, according to a panel of experts that spoke Wednesday about the barriers to market scale.
MARKET
Forestry investor begins measuring biodiversity baselines in preparation for incoming nature markets
A global forestry investment company has begun measuring biodiversity baselines across its assets in anticipation of emerging nature markets, a company representative said Thursday.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Study finds impact limitations for private biodiversity finance
Private sector interest in biodiversity is growing rapidly after the success at COP15 and the emergence of a voluntary nature credit market, but a study released this week warned that private finance won’t be a silver bullet for the biodiversity crisis as private capital injected into the field so far has come with certain limitations and preferences.
Only 41% of firms track value chain emissions, with nature impact lagging even further -report
New data released Wednesday by a climate disclosure organisation indicates that only 41% of those reporting track value chain emissions, and significantly fewer are aware of their impact on nature.
UK pension funds calls for carbon offsets regulator to boost nature protection
The UK government should establish a domestic regulator for the carbon offset market to help incentivise capital flows into nature protection and restoration, according to one of the nation’s leading pension funds.
Australian pension fund divests from land developer over biodiversity transparency concerns
An Australian pension fund has divested from a land development company in protest of its decision to proceed with a project that could threaten the survival of one of the last remaining healthy koala colonies in New South Wales.
Stakeholders take aim at insurance firm’s biodiversity paper
A report from a major insurer on quantifying nature loss risk has been critiqued by several stakeholders in the nascent biodiversity crediting market citing poor data and undervaluing the impact of the destruction of species on the economy.
POLICY
UK trade deal in Asia-Pacific to see palm oil import tariffs slashed -media
The UK’s accession to a trade partnership with multiple Asia-Pacific countries would see concessions on nature such as the slashing of tariffs on palm oil imports from Malaysia, according to people involved in the talks as reported by the Financial Times.
MARKET
Standards – Singapore-based trading platform Climate Impact X (CIX) is in the process of launching a new spot trading platform, and as part of the roll-out it will introduce ‘Nature X’, a standardised carbon offset contract currently set to include 11 large REDD+ forest conservation projects. (Carbon Pulse).
Raising cash – The Ecosystem Restoration Standard, a newly formed standards body that aims to target small-scale nature restoration projects, has raised €5 mln in seed funding, deploying digital auditing towards plots of land previously deemed too costly to manage cost-effectively. The carbon offset standard will be open for public consultation from Mar. 21 after two years of research and development that involved pilot projects in Panama, Costa Rica, and Madagascar. (Carbon Pulse)
POLICY
Getting down to it – Indonesia, one of the world’s most biodiversity-rich countries, has held a multi-ministerial workshop to begin the process of implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and draw up a national strategy to set and meet related targets. At the launch, Deputy Environment and Forest Minister Alue Dohong introduced the concept of of ‘biodiversity sensitive development’, saying development projects and policies from now on must take into account aspects of conservation, sustainability, and the wise use of biodiversity. It also included the launch of a Biodiversity Action Centre, which will act as a control centre for biodiversity data and information.
Crackdown – Police in Bhutan and the northeastern Indian state of Assam are combining efforts to curb illegal wildlife trade, they said this week. Officials from the Bhutan government attending workshops on the issue appreciated the presentations as an eye-opener to the burgeoning wildlife crime and illegal trade that has volume-wise become the fourth largest illegal global trade after drugs, human trafficking, and arms, reports Northeast Now.
SCIENCE & TECH
Looking bleak – Several regions of the world are at risk of losing their ability to store carbon, which could result in the drastic transformation of ecosystems and accelerated climate change, one recent study has found. Across the globe, landscapes are showing signs of losing their ability to absorb the amount of carbon they once could, according to a study called “Diagnosing destabilisation risk in global land carbon sinks”, published in Nature last month. That would pose serious obstacles to the fight against climate change, as carbon storage in forests, peatlands, and other ecosystems is key to keeping the global temperature below 1.5C (2.7F). (Mongabay)
Devils v possums – The introduction of Tasmanian devils to Maria Island halved the population of brushtail possums, according to new research that suggests restoring top predators to ecosystems could help limit the number of overabundant prey. In 2012, the carnivorous marsupials were introduced to the island off the east coast of Tasmania to create a geographically isolated insurance population free from devil facial tumour disease. Australian researchers have tracked the impact of the introduction on brushtail possums, finding that “possum abundance fell by more than 50% across Maria Island as a whole”. (The Guardian)
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