Presenting Biodiversity Pulse, Carbon Pulse’s free newsletter on the biodiversity market. It’s a twice-weekly summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. Subscribe here
All articles in this edition are free to read (no subscription required).
TOP STORIES
RePlanet’s five biodiversity credit projects could generate “$10 mln” each
RePlanet is partnering with other companies on five biodiversity credit initiatives around the world that could each generate “$10 million or more”, via an impending blockchain process, an executive has estimated.
INTERVIEW: Mapping software key to attracting investments in biodiversity
Mapping technology can be a key contributor to scaling up investments in conservation, while recognising the role of Indigenous Peoples in landscapes, an executive of a California-based software company told Carbon Pulse.
MARKET
INTERVIEW: Renewable developer expects to generate surplus biodiversity net gain units
A developer of solar and wind projects would like to sell its surplus biodiversity net gain (BNG) units to a large developer in need of off-site units under England’s new legislation.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Improving returns from nature a key reason for investing -survey
Improving profits from assets related to nature and climate are attracting investors to the market, while biodiversity credits are tipped to mature this year, a survey has suggested.
Brazilian beef driving illegal deforestation in Cerrado region, NGO finds
Beef production by Brazil’s three biggest meatpackers is fuelling illegal deforestation in the Cerrado region, with an area bigger than Chicago cleared between 2008 and 2019 by ranches supplying the companies, an NGO investigation has found.
POLICY
Colombia picks Cali to host COP16
The Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP16 in October and November this year will take place in Cali, capital of Colombia’s Pacific region, President Gustavo Petro has announced.
UK biodiversity net gain tweak “dramatically undermines” local authorities with nature ambitions
An adjustment by the UK government to the biodiversity net gain (BNG) legislation, meaning local authorities need to justify increasing their minimum net biodiversity improvement level, undermines nature restoration efforts, a consultant has said.
Australian environmental groups call for land-clearing trigger in EPBC reforms
The Australian government’s proposed nature law reforms still includes loopholes that would allow mass deforestation and must be closed, a coalition of environmental groups warned Thursday.
PROJECTS
Bezos Earth Fund allocates $5 mln for conservation efforts in the Congo Basin
The Bezos Earth Fund will pledge $5 million to the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) to support its conservation efforts in the Congo Basin, the US-based organisation has announced.
WEBINARS
Join Climate Impact Partners’ webinar to find out how your company can deliver biodiversity impact. In partnership with Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Climate Impact Partners is hosting a webinar on Tuesday 27 February about the importance of corporate action on biodiversity and how companies can deliver it. Register to learn more about the Save A Species program – an opportunity for your company to demonstrate real biodiversity impact by funding the conservation and recovery of a threatened tree species.
As we work to scale nature finance, we find ourselves actively engaged in the search for the “right” biodiversity metric. We hope that you will join WCS, The Biodiversity Consultancy Ltd, WRI, and Climate Focus for a webinar on March 5 to learn about a rigorous, tested tool for measuring the integrity of global ecosystems – the Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII). Panelists will discuss the current state of biodiversity metrics, how the FLII can be utilized as a biodiversity metric, how the FLII is being used to scale up tropical forest financing, and how the private sector can engage. Register here.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
MARKET
Too much – Several improved forest management (IFM) methodologies present a high risk of overstating emissions impacts, according to factsheets released Wednesday alongside a new set of carbon credit quality scores by German think tank Oeko-Institut in partnership with NGOs. Commercial afforestation projects run the same risk, the analysts said. (Carbon Pulse)
First pick – Forestry asset manager New Forests on Thursday announced it had made its first investment from its Tropical Asia Forest Fund 2 (TAFF2) by establishing a peatland conservation and restoration project in Thailand that could generate around 500,000 carbon credits per year. The 70,000-ha Kuan Kreng Landscape, Thailand’s second-biggest peat swamp forest area, has been degraded due to drainage canal networks associated with agricultural land use. (Carbon Pulse)
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Sticking to it – Banana producer Chiquita says it has committed to an additional 10 years of protection to the Nogal Reserve in Costa Rica, as part of its mission to honour the communities and land from which its bananas grow, the Packer reports. The Nogal Reserve, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, was established as a private wildlife refuge as the result of a joint effort between Chiquita and a portion of its clients, according to a news release. To honour the reserve’s longevity and accomplishments, Chiquita said it plans to continue long-term conservation of the area, promote environmental education for local communities, improve the local communities’ quality of life, and continue to be a model in the banana industry for biodiversity conservation.
A sea of money – The Baltic Sea Action Plan Fund (BSAP Fund) has allocated €1 mln towards 10 new projects in Estonia, Finland, Sweden, and Poland aimed at improving the health of the Baltic Sea. Six of these projects are expected to positively impact biodiversity through several initiatives, including forestry and sea-based activities. The BSAP Fund is managed by the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO). By the end of 2023, it financed 73 projects, disbursing over €11 mln.
Swimming in sewage – UK firm Severn Trent Water has been fined over £2 mln for allowing raw sewage that could fill over 10 Olympic-size swimming pools to illegally discharge into the River Trent between 2019 and 2020, the government said. Two of the company’s three pumps failed during the period. “Severn Trent was fortunate that this incident did not cause catastrophic pollution in the Trent, as the river already had high flows when the discharge occurred,” the Environment Agency said.
Concrete commitment – Large Germany-based building materials company Heidelberg Materials has extended its partnership with BirdLife International to enhance biodiversity in and around its quarries within the next three years. Under the agreement, they will collaborate to “minimise negative environmental impacts, and to promote best practice in biodiversity management”, Heidelberg said in a press release. More than 40 biodiversity projects have been started since the partnership began in 2011.
POLICY
Done deal – The EU Commission has allocated over €233 mln to 12 projects to boost the bloc’s environmental and climate action under the European Green Deal. The funding will help 10 countries – Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Lithuania, Austria, Poland and Finland – achieve their targets. The selected projects span marine ecosystem conservation, species protection, and ecological corridors reinforcement.
Race for ratification – Chile has officially ratified the UN’s Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions (BBNJ) agreement on high seas governance, becoming the second country in the world after the Pacific island nation of Palau to do so. The agreement, widely known as the High Seas Treaty, will enter into force when at least 60 countries have ratified it. To date, 87 states have signed the agreement.
Down by the river – The Chinese state governments of Sichuan and Chongqing have announced an initiative to boost biodiversity conservation and restoration along the Yangtze River. The project aims to create ecological corridors and enhance shared preservation efforts. As a part of the initiative, Hejiang County, Yongchuan, and Jiangjin districts will join forces to revive the natural habitats of the fish populations in the river, threatened by overfishing and illegal sand mining.
From North to South – The Australian Land Conservation Alliance (ALCA) has called for an ambitious law to tackle biodiversity loss in South Australia. The organisation submitted a set of recommendations to the South Australian state government, asking for the creation of an independent statutory conservation trust aimed at partnering “with willing landholders to permanently protect, manage, and restore biodiversity across South Australia”. On Monday, a group of scientific and conservation organisations called for the Northern Territory to legislate biodiversity protection for the first time in an open letter to the chief minister, even as the federal government is in the process of reforming the national environmental law.
Forking crazy – UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced an annual UK-wide Food Security Index to capture the data needed to monitor levels of food security, the government has said. The results of the index will be revealed annually at the Farm to Fork Summit, where Sunak was speaking. The government will also launch a £15 mln fund to help tackle food waste, by enabling farmers to redistribute surplus food that cannot be used commercially.
Almost protected – The Canadian federal government and the Mushkegowuk Council have announced progress towards protecting a vast marine area off Ontario’s north shores. Western James Bay and southwestern Hudson Bay could soon be designated as a national marine conservation area, where the Omushkego Cree communities will be able to affirm their right to fish and hunt. Protecting this area, which is home to a large beluga population and a threatened polar bear population, will help conserve local biodiversity.
SCIENCE & TECH
Udder chaos – Cows in a beauty spot in a valley in Kent, UK have been grazing in fields strewn with litter, as an increasing amount of rubbish has been dumped in the area, Kent Wildlife Trust has said. Accidents include a Highland cow lamed by a broken beer bottle, another cow lodging a roller skate wheel on its horn, and ponies chewing on beer cans. The charity is appealing for volunteers to help clean up.
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