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TOP STORY

Japan certifies over 100 OECMs in bid to drive private sector biodiversity action

Japan’s environment ministry this week concluded the certification of 122 sites across the country as Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), its core policy to incentivise businesses to contribute towards the country meeting its 30 by 30 biodiversity protection targets.

MARKET

Biodiversity crediting needs a global integrity council, says non-profit

A multi-stakeholder biodiversity market supervisor could advise on claims and provide quality guidance to both potential buyers and project developers, helping nature crediting to avoid the current integrity issues facing the voluntary carbon market (VCM), according to a non-profit.

Malaysia to create biodiversity assets in carbon market through new finance instrument

Malaysia will use a newly launched biodiversity instrument to fund reforestation and forest restoration by generating carbon credits, the nation’s environment minister has said.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Nature tech investment reaches a total of $7.5 bln, says environmental group

Billions are being invested in nature tech startups that are benefitting from increased emphasis on corporate impact reporting, with MRV and biodiversity credit startups among the largest growing categories.

Hyundai, IUCN target OECMs with Vietnamese mangrove partnership

A partnership that aims to plant 120,000 mangrove trees in Vietnam during its first year with OECM potential has been announced by Korean carmaker Hyundai and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

African alliance targets financial instrument for mangroves

Financial instruments supporting mangroves and forestry are under consideration by members of the African Natural Capital Allliance (ANCA), an executive at the organisation has said.

Landbanking launches nature equity platform with $11 mln

Landbanking Group has launched a platform for buying improvements in nature over areas of land, with $11 million in financing from investors.

Public-private partnerships can ensure finance flows to global biodiversity targets, says consultancy boss

An Italian environmental consultancy told Carbon Pulse that its public-private model can enable private sector finance to flow into improving biodiversity outcomes while ensuring cohesion with targets agreed under the Global Biodiversity Framework.

POLICY

Deep-sea mining not environmentally, financially, or technically feasible, says NGO coalition

Ahead of a UN-affiliated meeting next week on deep-sea mining, an NGO-led campaign has called for a blanket moratorium on the activity and the closure of legal loopholes that permit deep-water extraction work.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Park life – The Government of Canada and the Nature Conservancy of Canada have announced a CAN$30 mln funding boost for land located near national parks. A total of 30,000 hectares of national park “buffer zones” will be protected with the money. The cash will be used for existing conservation efforts in Southwest Nova Scotia and to develop ecological corridors in La Mauricie National Park, Thousand Islands National Park, and Bruce Peninsula National Park. With this announcement, an area the size of Germany has been added to Canada’s land conservation totals since 2015, reported Mirage News.

High water – Ceres has launched a “first-of-its-kind” benchmark of the water stewardship practices of the Valuing Water Finance Initiative’s 72 focus companies from the clothing, drinks, food and technology sectors. “Companies have a long way to go,” Ceres said. The lowest-performing company in the benchmark, Chiquita Brands International, had made just 0.6% progress towards meeting Ceres’s expectations. The highest-graded firm, Cargill, has fulfilled 69% of the non-profit’s asks.

More water – The annual value of investments in the global water market will reach $1.2 trillion by 2030, with the sector growing by 3-4% annually until then, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has said. Banks will realign to cope with these nature and water risks while embracing the opportunities they present, said the bank, the second-largest in Spain. “The deployment of long-term strategies, the role of investors and shareholders, and increasingly stringent regulation paint a brighter picture” for nature, it said in a comment piece.

POLICY

Ocean rules – China has revised its Marine Environment Protection Law to ramp up environmental monitoring and harsher penalties for violations. The revision, passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Tuesday, will mandate the country’s cabinet, coastguard, and governments above county level to conduct regular environmental monitoring. Under new rules, damage to coral reefs and protected natural marine areas will carry fines of 1,000 yuan ($137) to 10,000 yuan for every square meter damaged, and perpetrators will need to take remedial actions for the damage. Governments above the county level in coastal regions should also set up institutions for both the monitoring and cleaning of marine waste, China Daily reports.

Bogs back – 345 hectares of raised peat bog habitat is being restored in a new government-backed project in North Jutland, Denmark. The area known as Store Vildmose was one of Denmark’s largest raised bogs but was drained in the 1920s for agriculture. The project is rewetting the area by blocking 25km of ditches and drainage pipes and constructing earthworks like embankments and small dikes. 100,000 hectares of low-lying soils were identified as priority carbon-rich and climate-damaged for restoration by the Danish Parliament in 2021, with this site being a small portion of the total.

SCIENCE & TECH

Hunting risk – Illegal hunting and trading of wildlife in China is becoming a threat to public health and biodiversity, according to a new study published in Nature. The study revealed that from 2014 to 2020 more than three million individual animals were hunted. During this period there were 9,256 convictions, with researchers saying less than 1% of hunting incidents get detected and prosecuted. The researchers concluded that at least 28% of China’s native terrestrial vertebrate species, including 40% of its birds, may have been taken during the study period. More than 90 threatened species were likely to have been targeted during the six-year timeframe. Illegal hunting incidents were widespread across the country, though there was a higher concentration in the areas closer to cities, which suggested that the illegal hunting was potentially done for commercial purposes and resell opportunities.

No problem poaching  – Subsistence poaching in the area known as the Legal Amazonia in Brazil is not a threat to birds and animals, reported a study published in Biological Conservation. Researchers deployed 720 camera traps near 100 local communities in southwestern Amazonia, which recorded the presence of 29 bird and mammal species weighing more than 5 kg. The study found that the main factor in species diversity, abundance and biomass changes was the distance from communities rather than the communities themselves. However, the authors also contend that conservation management strategies are still needed to combat the sale of bushmeat in urban areas from sensitive species including tapirs, peccaries, and curassows.

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