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TOP STORY
France, UK to spearhead work on creating a global biodiversity market
France and the UK announced on Thursday they are initiating a broad consultative process for the creation of an international biodiversity market with the intention of having a framework ready by the UN’s COP16 summit in Turkey next year.
MARKET
INTERVIEW: In biodiversity, more private finance must mean more state oversight
The ecological success of the voluntary biodiversity credit market will be almost entirely determined by the quality of the governance mechanisms and the measurement methods used, according to a leading biodiversity finance researcher.
Australia’s nature repair bill passes in lower house after key amendments made, but fate in Senate remains in doubt
The lower house of Australia’s parliament passed the nature repair bill on Wednesday evening after independent MPs had ensured several key amendments to improve the proposed biodiversity market, but the government still lacks the support required to get the legislation through senate in August.
Australian govt’s nature repair market bill in doubt after Coalition reverses its support
Australia’s world-first nature repair market legislation is in jeopardy following the opposition Coalition’s decision to withdraw its support.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Project launches to develop blueprint for bioreef restoration projects
Energy company Orsted and green group WWF have launched a project to restore biogenic reefs in the North Sea in a bid to develop a globally replicable methodology while at the same time contributing to the company’s net positive biodiversity impact ambitions.
Governments must regulate to drive biodiversity action, asset manager says
Governments must introduce tougher regulations on biodiversity because companies won’t act on their own at the scale needed to stave off to nature and biodiversity loss crisis, according to a UK-based asset manager.
POLICY
Norway proposes to open up area bigger than UK for deep seabed mining
The Norwegian government has announced plans to open up an area of over 280,000 sq. km for commercial seabed mineral activities, in spite of stern warnings from scientists and green groups of potential severe consequences for marine biodiversity.
EU ministers agree united position on controversial nature restoration law
EU environment ministers reached an agreement on Tuesday on the proposal for a nature restoration law, moving ahead of the divided European Parliament in the bloc’s parallel lawmaking process.
EU lawmakers defeat efforts to kill nature bill, vote postponed due to lack of time
The European Parliament’s environment committee (ENVI) narrowly defeated a move to fully reject the highly disputed nature restoration bill on Thursday, but its full position is yet to be established because the voting process was suspended after several hours due to a lack of time.
MARKET
Mangroves – Dubai-headquartered Blue Forest has announced a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabian company Net Zero to restore at least 5,000 hectares of mangrove forests in Saudi Arabia over the next three years. Some 50 mln mangrove trees will be planted across the Kingdom over the time period, with an eye to earn voluntary carbon credits. (Carbon Pulse)
Going places – An Estonian startup developing carbon removal projects through land restoration in Africa has successfully closed a €1-mln investment round. 1MT Nation said investor interest was higher than anticipated, leading to the selection of backers with specialist knowledge in the forestry and wood industry, capital markets, sustainability, and technology. 1MT Nation’s mission is to restore 1 mln hectares of degraded land in Africa by 2030, utilising native or naturalised bamboo species. (Carbon Pulse)
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Getting on the bandwagon – The EU’s powerful lending arm, the European Investment Bank, expects to back its first ‘debt-for-nature’ swap this year as it bolsters efforts to stem biodiversity loss. Debt-for-nature swaps, which help countries cut their debt in return for conservation commitments, are attracting growing interest after Ecuador’s record $1.6 bln deal last month to protect the Galapagos Islands. “We are working with a number of countries,” Maria Shaw-Barragan, a director of lending at the ‘EIB Global’ arm of the bank that lends outside the EU, told Reuters.
Caught – Hong Kong authorities have seized HK$22 million ($2.8 mln) worth of contraband items ranging from dried shark fins to live star tortoises in a month-long crackdown against the smuggling of endangered wildlife. Assistant Superintendent Cheung Ka-chung of customs’ air cargo group said authorities cracked 24 smuggling cases involving endangered species at various control points, including the airport, in the May operation that also led to the arrests of 14 people. In one of the cases, customs officers seized more than five tonnes of dried shark fins from suspected endangered species with an estimated value of HK$21 mln, he said. (South China Morning Post)
Caught II – Brazilian authorities said on Monday they had seized 28.7 metric tonnes of illegally obtained shark fins that would be exported to Asia, in what they called the world’s largest confiscation of its kind at the origin. Environment protection agency Ibama estimated the consignment represented the death of some 10,000 sharks of two different species, the blue shark and the shortfin mako shark, which entered Brazil’s national list of endangered species last month. (Reuters)
Not going so well – An “unheard of” marine heatwave off the coasts of the UK and Ireland poses a serious threat to species, scientists have warned. Sea temperatures, particularly off the north-east coast of England and the west of Ireland, are several degrees above normal, smashing records for late spring and early summer. The North Sea and north Atlantic are experiencing higher temperatures, data shows. The Met Office said global sea surface temperatures in April and May reached an all-time high for those months, according to records dating to 1850, with June also on course to hit record heat levels. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has categorised parts of the North Sea as being in a category four marine heatwave, which is considered “extreme”, with areas off the coast of England up to 5C above what is usual. (Guardian)
Not going so well II – Toxic algal blooms are killing hundreds of sea lions and dolphins along the coast of California’s southern beaches. More than 1,000 marine animals have become sick or died in June, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Experts say algal blooms pose a seasonal issue, but climate change may be worsening the problem. Rescue groups are getting more than 200 reports of marine mammals in distress each day. (BBC)
Up for grabs – In the US, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has announced $18 mln in new conservation grants from the Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund to restore, enhance, and protect longleaf pine forests across nine states in the southern US. That’s the biggest amount in the programme’s history and the organisation expects it to leverage nearly $15mln in matching contributions from other sources.
Adding to the total – Canada’s Frontera Energy Corp. has joined the World Economic Forum’s 1 Trillion Trees initiative, which aims to conserve, restore, and grow 1 trillion trees by 2030 to begin clawing back some of the 3 trillion trees the planet has lost. Frontera said in an announcement it committed to preserve and restore 2,500 hectares worth of biological corridors in environmentally important areas, involving around 2.6 mln trees.
Getting started – In Malaysia, Similajau National Park (SNP) has been chosen for rewilding and habitat restoration due to its ecological significance and the urgent need to reverse degradation, said Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) CEO Zolkipli Muhamad Aton. With support from local communities, NGOs, and corporate bodies, he added, SFC has secured substantial funding to carry out extensive tree planting operations. “This support enables us to replant thousands of native tree species, which is essential for revitalising the park’s ecosystem and ensuring the survival of its unique species,” he said. (Borneo Post)
POLICY
Adopted – The UN on Monday adopted the first-ever legally binding international treaty governing the high seas, CBS News reports. Known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty, or BBNJ, but widely referred to as the High Seas Treaty, the measure approved by the 193 UN member states imposes rules aimed at protecting the environment and heading off disputes over natural resources, shipping and other matters in waters beyond any country’s national jurisdiction. Even though the treaty has now been signed, it will not enter into force until 60 nations have ratified it. The treaty was successfully negotiated in March.
Joining in – Burkina Faso this week became the 23rd nation to join the Elephant Protection Initiative, a pan-African alliance dedicated to the conservation of elephants and the harmonious co-existence of elephants and people. Burkina Faso will now work with the organisation to protect its domestic elephant population of around 6,000 animals.
Partnering up – German Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke and her Chinese counterpart Huang Runqiu have agreed to intensify their collaboration on climate and environmental issues. Both nations aim to combat the loss of biodiversity, climate change, and pollution through increased bilateral and multilateral cooperation. As part of the agreement, both countries plan to present a revised national biodiversity strategy and action plan by 2024. They also emphasised the importance of protecting oceans and tackling marine litter. The 7th German-Chinese Environmental Forum, to be held in November, will focus on combating pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change. This ongoing collaboration between Germany and China is aimed at strengthening their combined environmental efforts and sharing experiences on implementing environmental policy priorities.
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