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TOP STORY
INTERVIEW: Consultancy wants property developers to avoid offsets by integrating biodiversity
Property developers should take advantage of the economic value of nature and integrate biodiversity into their projects, rather than just offsetting their impact, according to software and consultancy company Endangered Wildlife OU.
MARKET
Gold Standard joins France-based group to develop biodiversity certification methodology
Carbon credit standard body Gold Standard has announced it has joined several prominent companies and institutions to work on biodiversity crediting approaches, following other carbon standards that recently released draft methodologies.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Textile industry body looks to set industry biodiversity foundation in new report
The fashion industry has complex and specific challenges to biodiversity but needs to start moving on understanding their impacts, according to a new report released by an industry body.
Think tank develops blue recovery bond framework to tackle overfishing
Financial think tank Planet Tracker has developed a theoretical framework for a blue recovery bond that would allow investment in blue recovery bonds to fund fisheries that reduce or completely stop fishing in designated areas while stocks recover.
TOOLS & GUIDANCE
A global biodiversity observation system will be essential, says academic
Establishing a worldwide system of biodiversity networks sharing harmonised data is critical for society, an academic has said.
Tech company unveils ground-truthing platform for corporate nature disclosures
A UK-based tech company on Tuesday launched a first-of-its-kind cloud-based platform powered by environmental DNA to “equip business for [the] nature reporting boom”, it said.
POLICY
New funding to boost investment-readiness for nature markets in Scotland
The Scottish government has announced an open call for projects aiming to support current and future nature markets, which it hopes will drive equitable financial investment in natural capital, among broader calls for UK-wide policy cohesion to help promote the emerging biodiversity market.
Alliance calls for national plan as Australia fights losing battle against nature loss
An alliance of more than 20 organisations and companies has urged the Australian government to design a national restoration plan with targets and funding mechanisms to turn the tide as the nation’s ecosystem degradation and decline continue at scale.
MARKET
Trying anew – Global carbon standard Verra on Tuesday released its new methodology for afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) projects for its VCS programme that will allow the use of dynamic performance benchmarks for the first time. The new methodology can be used for activities anywhere in the world that increase the density of trees or other types of woody vegetation, and in addition to dynamic baselines it will rely on remote sensing data to establish a project’s baselines and test its additionality. (Carbon Pulse)
Island doing island things – Taiwan is the latest actor planning to introduce an offset methodology for blue carbon, as the island aims to secure more carbon credits from nature-based projects following the launch of a government-backed voluntary marketplace. Ocean Affairs Council (OAC), the top marine regulator in Taiwan, plans to submit a blue carbon-focused offset methodology and continues working on the drafting of marine carbon sink inventory methods, OAC minister Kuan Bi-ling said in a statement released this week, without giving a timeline. (Carbon Pulse)
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Marine living – A new $48 mln project to strengthen the foundation for economic growth and sustainable development of marine living resources by focusing on marine spatial planning, area-based management, and climate-smart sustainable seafood value chain development has commenced. The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), FAO, and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), are partnering to implement the four-year project in the region. The “BE-CLME+: Promoting National Blue Economy Priorities Through Marine Spatial Planning in the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Plus” project aims to maintain and preserve cultural heritage through sustainable fisheries management, improved livelihoods, and alternative livelihoods while strengthening the integration of fisheries and ecosystem management to restore, protect, and maintain marine biodiversity, productivity, and resilience of marine ecosystems. (Dominica News Online)
Three in three – The charity Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) has launched its largest-ever funding call to raise £3 mln in three years to contribute to nature recovery in the English counties. The charity manages more than 80 nature reserves but said its area suffers specific risks from intensive agriculture, housing developments, and infrastructure projects including the nationally significant rail project “HS2”. At the time of writing the charity had raised £162,610, the vast majority of which was raised by long-standing donors.
Picnic bench – Over a third (35%) of the world’s 350 ‘most influential’ companies are failing to recognise their impact on sustainable food systems, the World Benchmarking Alliance has said. The finding in its Food and Agriculture Benchmark 2023 highlighted the importance of holding laggers accountable, the organisation said. Few firms have put people at the centre of the transition to a low-carbon economy, although more companies have worked towards reducing their carbon footprint and adopting regenerative agriculture practices, it said.
New start – The Vietnamese Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of southern An Giang Province, in collaboration with WWF-Vietnam, has launched a restoration project for the wetlands floodplains around Tra Su Wetland Reserve, boosting natural-based solutions for biodiversity conservation. WWF-Vietnam said the project will focus on identifying and demonstrating nature-based solutions, which have the potential for large-scale expansion and investment throughout the upper Mekong Delta region. This initiative contributes to the overall goal of preserving the biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems in Vietnam while ensuring sustainable livelihoods for the local communities. (Vietnamnet)
Prettying up – Australia’s Brisbane is hosting the 2032 Olympics, and is preparing for the event on a number of fronts. That includes a new plan to plant more than 1 mln native plants in the city, including restoring greenspace and creeks, according to project developer Greening Australia, which has partnered with the city to carry out the project.
SCIENCE & TECH
Degrading – More than 100 dolphins have died in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest in the past week as the region grapples with a severe drought, and many more could die soon if water temperatures remain high, experts say. The Mamiraua Institute, a research group of Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, said two more dead dolphins were found Monday in the region around Tefe Lake, which is key for mammals and fish in the area. Video provided by the institute showed vultures picking at the dolphin carcasses beached on the lakeside. Thousands of fish have also died, local media reported. Experts believe high water temperatures are the most likely cause of the deaths in the lakes in the region. Temperatures since last week have exceeded 39C in the Tefe Lake region. (Washington Post)
Good tonnes – Around 65% of India’s natural areas are suitable for invasion by alien plant species, according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority. A new study suggests that megaherbivores weighing over 1 tonne can help improve biotic resistance and mitigate alien invasions in ‘midproductive’ ecosystems, like floodplains. Experts say more detailed studies are needed to assess which invasive species megaherbivores feed on, to learn more about the kind of control they exert over an ecosystem. (Mongabay)
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