Biodiversity monitoring company NatureMetrics has launched a tool to measure and track soil restoration progress, claiming it could help private organisations better demonstrate their commitment to nature positive outcomes.
Dubbed Restoration Tracker, the tool aligns with nature-related reporting standards such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), the Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN), and the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), according to NatureMetrics.
“Restoration Tracker solves the challenge of making sense of complex ecosystem data by distilling it into clear, actionable metrics,” Bastian Egeter, ecology director at NatureMetrics, said in a statement.
“This really is a game-changer if you’re looking to track restoration progress in a simple and repeatable way, underpinned with deep ecological rigour.”
NatureMetrics said that providing a standardised method to assess restoration progress has the potential to address a critical challenge in biodiversity monitoring, as it allows for comparisons between different sites and projects.
Through leveraging environmental DNA (eDNA), the tool samples the areas being restored, looking at several components, like the diversity of soil bacteria, fungi, and invertebrates.
Then, it generates a score ranging from 0 to 1 for each project and site, which reflects restoration progress.
“Consistent scores across time series, projects, and portfolios enable better decision-making,” said NatureMetrics.
LIMITED KNOWLEDGE
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), soil is home to more than 25% of the world’s biodiversity, including plants and microorganisms. Yet, knowledge is still limited.
In recent months, experts have increasingly warned that underestimating soil health when tracking the progress of nature restoration projects could lead to unreliable or incomplete assessments.
“As global awareness of biodiversity loss and the need for ecosystem restoration grows, the demand for standardised, scientifically robust monitoring tools is expected to increase,” said NatureMetrics.
“Our approach aligns with incoming standards and frameworks such as the TNFD and CSRD, generating data [companies] need to stay compliant.”
Last October, NatureMetrics launched a first-of-its-kind cloud-based platform powered by eDNA for corporate nature disclosures.
Analysis disclosed this month by the company, based on information from 176 organisations worldwide, showed that 84% are still unprepared for reporting on their nature-related risks and dependencies under the recommendations from the TNFD and the CSRD.
The survey also revealed that 44% and 56% of respondents do not collect any data on their business’ nature-related impacts and dependencies, respectively.
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
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