Scientists in Australia have developed a biodiversity monitoring method tailored to small landholders seeking to access the voluntary biodiversity credit market.

The initiative aims to support conservation and restoration efforts on private land, said John Fargher, an agricultural scientist and landholder at Yundi Nature Conservancy in southern Australia, who co-developed the method.

“For biodiversity conservation to actually deliver what’s needed, we have to work with private landholders,” he told Carbon Pulse.

“In Australia, for example, the biggest challenge for biodiversity is in the higher rainfall agricultural areas in the southeast and southwest of the country. And that’s all private land.”

As biodiversity markets have yet to pick up on a large scale, Fargher stressed the need to enhance their credibility through science-based approaches in order to attract investments.

“If we want to conserve private lands, we need some way for the market to interact with small landholders. Investors need confidence that what they’re putting money into is real,” he said.

“They have confidence in markets if there are clear quality standards, rigorous monitoring, reporting, and verification, and proof of additionality. And that’s what we aim to achieve.”

HOW IT WORKS

The method developed by Fargher and remote sensing specialist Christopher Auricht compares the spectral profile of two separate plant communities – a treatment site that investors are financing for restoration or maintenance, and a reference site with a plant community of condition similar to the outcome expected in the treatment site.

“When the light comes down from the sun, it bounces off the surface of the plant community, and the satellite picks up all that information that’s reflected in all the different waves of light,” said Fargher.

“We go from visual right up to short-wave infrared. And it’s very important to have that short-wave infrared, as you need that full spectrum to really understand the differences in the plant community.”

While technological advances have emerged in recent years as a key means to improve biodiversity monitoring, these are often too costly for private landholders seeking to access the market.

These include eDNA, which is being increasingly promoted as a non-invasive way to measure biodiversity uplifts from crediting projects, as well as audio ecology.

“Although both aren’t yet perfect, they can be used for monitoring biodiversity. The problem is they’re very expensive,” Fargher said.

“Our aim is to address this issue and provide small landholders with a cheaper yet reliable solution.”

APPROACHING THE MARKET

After proof of concept pilots were carried out in 2022-23, co-financed by Pew Charitable Trusts, the method is now being used at scale with landholders on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, focused on managing critically endangered swamp plant communities integrated with grazing and dairy farms.

“Once this step is finalised, we will approach the market. We’re already in discussions with Accounting for Nature, but we plan to start conversations with other market actors, including Verra,” Fargher said.

Fargher and Auricht said that their method could also be used under Australia’s Nature Repair Market (NRM) scheme, currently under development.

The government is set to launch the NRM in Jan. 2025, which will be the world’s first government-run voluntary biodiversity market.

By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com

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