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TOP STORY

Swedish bank buys first European biodiversity credits

A Swedish bank has acquired a batch of biodiversity credits generated through a domestic forestry project, the first time such units have been created and transacted in Europe.

MARKET

Carbon project developer says offsets should not initially be allowed in Australia’s nature repair market

One of Australia’s largest carbon project developers says nature repair certificates should initially be barred from being used as offsets, as part of a wide-ranging list of recommendations and concerns it raised on the government’s nature repair market bill.

Tiger study shows climate benefits from biodiversity conservation

India’s tiger protection programme has brought with it significant carbon benefits in the form of avoided deforestation, and shows that allowing carbon crediting can pay for a substantial part of the costs associated with species conservation projects even when they take place in a protected area, according to a study published this week.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Australian research group to test the waters on commercial-scale kelp industry

An Australian blue economy industry-academia partnership has been permitted to deploy marine infrastructure to further research into growing commercial-scale offshore kelp to achieve positive environmental outcomes.

Plenty of fish: Marine protection doesn’t hold back fishing industry, study finds

The global fishing industry has been fighting against the implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs), but a study of the largest MPA in North America has found that even full protection of the area’s biodiversity did not negatively impact catches.

Orsted to join work on biodiversity blueprint for UK offshore wind power sites

Danish renewable energy firm Orsted and UK-based marine consultants Bluedot Associates have teamed up to develop a biodiversity framework to apply to the planned offshore floating wind power leasing round the UK is planning in the Celtic Sea.

POLICY

US Supreme Court decision upends federal jurisdiction over wetlands

A unanimous US Supreme Court ruling delivered on Thursday narrows the federal government’s authority in regulating bodies of water and could have larger implications for protection of wetlands across the country, according to analysis from an environmental publication.

Researchers say rich countries should compensate for biodiversity loss in Global South

People in rich nations’ excessive consumption has been driving global biodiversity loss, and they should pay compensation via loss and damage funds to countries whose natural habitats are being exploited, a group of researchers have argued.

Danish govt launches ocean nature fund, partners with business groups on biodiversity

Denmark will set up a $71.7-million fund to restore and protect marine nature, the government announced this week, while the environment ministry has formed an alliance with the nation’s leading industry associations to develop a common framework for taking biodiversity action.

MARKET

Synergy – A carbon project developer has clinched a four-part agreement with a municipal government in Senegal, the company said on Monday, outlining details of the deal that targets the development of both carbon and biodiversity credits from the various initiatives. (Carbon Pulse)

Greener pastures – Leading US producer of pasture-raised organic eggs, Handsome Brook Farms, has signed up to Green America’s Soil Carbon Initiative (SCI), it announced this week. The SCI is a regenerative farming scheme aiming to improve soil health, improve biodiversity above and below ground, and reduce agricultural nutrient runoff. Handsome Brook Farms will join SCI’s pilot Regenerative Egg Farming Project, under which five of its growers in Kentucky will adopt regenerative practices that are usually considered too expensive. However, carbon credits generated under the SCI programme are intended to compensate for that.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Nothing for you – Brazilian banks have committed to deny credit to meatpackers that buy cattle from illegally deforested areas, echoing new EU regulations intended to protect rainforests. The sustainability standard released Tuesday by Febraban, Brazil’s bank federation, requires slaughterhouses to adopt a tracking system to monitor its entire supply chain in the Amazon region and Maranhao state by Dec. 2025. The requirement applies to both direct and indirect suppliers. Leading meatpackers JBS SA and Marfrig Global Foods SA have commitments to stop buying cattle from indirect suppliers linked to Amazon illegal deforestation by 2025. The same companies already ban direct purchases from areas illegally cleared. The group representing Brazil beef exporters, known as Abiec, objected to what it says is a double standard by the banks, noting that landowners do not face the same requirements for financing. (Bloomberg)

Commitment – Zambia and Zimbabwe have signed an MoU on the Lower Zambezi Mana Pools Transfrontier Conservation Area, restating their commitments to the wildlife conservation targets of the Southern African Development Community Bloc. The programme provides huge opportunities and space for the implementation of the provisions of the SADC treaty with focus on cooperation and integration through joint planning and implementation of specific biodiversity conservation, law enforcement, investment, eco-tourism, business development programmes, and projects, Zimbabwe’s environment minister said at the MoU signing ceremony. (CAJ News)

Pollen’ together – Green industrial Envirium Life Sciences and BirdLife partner organisation ASITY Madagascar have teamed up to preserve the biodiversity and restore mangrove forests at the 400,000-ha Mangoky Ihotry wetland complex in Southwest Madagascar. To make conservation efforts in the area less reliant on NGOs and public institutions, Envirium will offer local farmers a steady income from the production of pollen crops. In addition, the company will grant an extra “environmental bonus” for each kilo of pollen exported for the biological control market, and these bonuses in full will go towards nature protection activities in the area. (Environews Nigeria)

Making deposits – In Australia, Victoria’s Mine Land Rehabilitation Authority, the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corp., and native nursery contractor Habitat Creations are working together to set up a seed bank for rehabilitation of mining areas in the Latrobe Valley. As mines close and the owners seek to rehabilitate the land, the seed bank will be able to supply seeds that are locally sourced to protect Gunaikurnai cultural land values.

POLICY

Not going great – Conservationists, environmental experts, and former and sitting forest officers have decried the Indian government’s proposal to change the application of a key law protecting India’s forests, arguing it will “open the floodgates” to unchecked mining and commercial activity. Several experts have submitted their objections to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, which is reviewing the proposed changes, after Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav earlier this year introduced the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill — which carries the proposed changes — in Parliament amid loud protests. (The Print)

Not going great II – Peru has attracted millions of dollars in forest conservation projects over the years, has a series of international agreements and targets to protect forests, and has 254 public and private parks and protected areas — but these mechanisms have had little to no effect as deforestation skyrockets in the country, says a new study. Peru, which has the second-biggest share of the Amazon Rainforest after Brazil, has lost an average of more than 326,000 acres of forest per year since 2001. This spiked in 2020 when it lost nearly 502,000 acres. The new study by CIFOR-ICRAF says conservation mechanisms in Peru have had at best a moderate effect on forest loss, but in many cases, haven’t had any effect at all. The impact on the well-being of the communities involved has ranged from positive to negative, according to the research. (Mongabay)

Getting on with it – During its latest council of ministers meeting, held on May 24, the Togolese government adopted a draft bill for the creation and management of the country’s protected areas. With this, Lome has passed a new milestone in biodiversity protection, amid a rapidly-changing global context, relative to biodiversity conservation, and rising socioeconomic and ecologic challenges associated with its sustainable management. (Togo First)

Same boat – In Canada, provinces and territories are on board to help the federal government in its goal to halt land and water loss across the country and protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault met with his counterparts in Ottawa Friday and said they’re all on the same page about conservation targets. Provincial, territorial leaders agreed to collaborate with Ottawa and Indigenous Peoples moving forward because “there’s no action on the environment in Canada without the full engagement of Indigenous leaders”, said Guilbeault. (CTV News)

Objection – In New Zealand, green group Forest & Bird has applied to the High Court for a judicial review of changes introduced by the nation’s environment minister last year, that the group says makes it easier for companies, including coal mines, to destroy crucial wetlands. The changes introduced ‘consenting pathways’ allowing the destruction of wetlands for quarrying, landfills and clean fills, mining, urban development, ski field infrastructure, and water storage infrastructure, such as dams, Forest & Bird said in an announcement. There are very few activities the new consenting pathway does not allow for, and if someone wants to destroy a wetland for one of these activities, they are required to go through an ‘effects management hierarchy’, which was intended to ensure ‘no net loss’ of wetlands, it claimed.

SCIENCE & TECH

Dire straits – Across the world, around 18,500 marine protected areas have been set up to protect sea life and the ecosystem services that oceans supply, covering about 8% of the sea surface. But according to a new study, some might not work as well in reality as they do on paper. Research published in Marine Policy found that a third of the MPAs assessed were likely to be “paper parks”, a term used by scientists for when conservation efforts are considered ineffective. Using stakeholders’ perceptions of fishing levels occurring in each MPA, the authors looked at the differences between official conservation targets and perceived protection levels on the water. (Mongabay)

Stay safe – For the first time, a team of more than fifty scientists from around the globe have assessed and quantified not only what is a safe operating space for humankind, but also what is a just one. They define justice as avoiding significant harm to people across the world, now and in the future, but also include other species in their analysis. “The new research provides safe and just Earth system boundaries for five critical domains that play a key role in life support and Earth stability. It is also based on what’s needed to minimise significant harm to humans as a result of changes in the Earth system, such as biodiversity loss and altered freshwater flows,” explained one of the lead authors, Centre researcher Steven Lade. The study was developed by the Earth Commission, an international network of scientists convened by Future Earth in Sweden. (Stockholm Resilience Centre)

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