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TOP STORY
FEATURE: Dutch non-profit pioneers biodiversity credit scheme with national ambitions
A Dutch initiative is spurring three pilots of a government-backed biodiversity credit framework it hopes will scale nationally, Carbon Pulse has learned.
MARKET
EU biodiversity chief backs nature credits, urges local authority participation
Nature credits have the potential to help the EU close the existing financing gap on conservation and restoration efforts, with local authorities playing a critical role in shaping the market, the bloc’s biodiversity chief said on Thursday.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Venture capital nature tech investments top $2 bln in 2024
Venture capital (VC) investments in nature tech startups surpassed $2 billion last year, with the biodiversity credit and MRV markets attracting one-fourth of early-stage support, according to a recently released analysis.
California sees launch of wildfire insurance incorporating nature-based solutions
A global conservation organisation and a London-headquartered brokerage and consulting firm have launched a new insurance policy incorporating nature-based solutions (NbS) to address the wildfire crisis in California.
TOOLS & GUIDANCE
Renewable projects must pick better locations to protect nature, conservationists warn
Australia needs to do better if it wishes to meet its clean energy, climate, and biodiversity targets, but can manage this by siting renewable projects where they will do the least harm to nature, according to green groups.
POLICY
US moves to reduce environmental protection across 45 mln ha of forests
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a memo aiming to reduce environmental safeguards across over 45 million hectares of forest, amid the administration’s ongoing push to increase logging activities in the country.
PROJECTS
Singapore firm launches massive reforestation project in Mongolia
A Singapore-based company has embarked on what it claims is the world’s largest boreal reforestation project, aiming to restore 750,000 hectares of degraded forest land in northern Mongolia.
Texas living shoreline project to generate blue carbon credits
A new shoreline restoration project in Texas plans to generate blue carbon credits to recover the construction costs of developing the project.
SCIENCE & TECH
Half of world’s mangroves threatened by sea level rise, tropical cyclones -study
The ongoing climate crisis could jeopardise half of the world’s mangrove ecosystems by the end of the century, with some of the most biodiverse regions in Southeast Asia facing the biggest risks, according to a new paper.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Chilean mining – Indigenous Peoples are in talks with Chilean miners over plans to extract lithium from the Atacama Desert, Reuters has reported. Talks on a so-called “governance” plan, including miners Codelco and SQM, are expected to conclude by the end of 2025. Their goal is to create a model that will give Indigenous Atacama groups, also known as Lickanantay, an active role in mining in the salt flat region where people have lived for thousands of years.
Focus group – The Finance for Biodiversity Foundation (FfB) has announced the launch of a focus group aimed at advancing its work across infrastructure, real estate, forestry, and agriculture. The focus group on real assets brings together FfB member institutions with investments in these sectors, seeking to develop a framework for assessing nature-related impacts and setting targets for biodiversity.
POLICY
Plastics against human rights – The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Thursday that recognised for the first time the link between plastic pollution and human rights. “Crucially, [the resolution] acknowledges that microplastic pollution undermines the conditions necessary for a healthy environment, including clean water,” said Andres Del Castillo, senior attorney at the Centre for International Environmental Law. The resolution came ahead of two major international summits expected to address this issue – the UN Ocean Conference, to be held in June in Nice, France, and talks over a first-ever global treaty to end plastic pollution (INC-5.2), to resume in August in Geneva, Switzerland.
Biodiversity fund – Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced last week the establishment of the International Biodiversity Fund, Trend has reported. During the Central Asia-EU summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Tokayev said the fund will target nature-positive initiatives, including biodiversity restoration and water protection projects. “We need international support in developing water-saving technologies, smart irrigation, and hydrological monitoring,” he added, according to Trend. Additional details have not been disclosed.
Legal battle – Colombia’s Constitutional Court has recognised the right of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities to collectively title lands in mangrove and intertidal areas. The court ruled in favour of the Community Council of Esfuerzo Pescador, which fought a legal battle to gain recognition of their rights. The Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development said it supported this decision.
Tree planting – Greek islands including Kefalonia and Aegina have launched an initiative to plant 200 trees along their coastline with the aim of tackling erosion and improving biodiversity, the Greek City Times reported. The programme is led by the Energy Policy and Development Centre of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Tajikistani coordination – A Tajikistani government spokesperson said only coordinated actions among the countries of Central Asia will allow for an effective response to the consequences of climate change, land degradation, and the loss of ecosystems, said Asia-Plus. The region is vulnerable to the increased frequency of natural disasters, soil degradation, and the disappearance of unique species, said Bahodour Sheralizoda, chairman of the committee for environmental protection, speaking at a session during the Climate Forum conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan last week.
Felling fellows – Three people have been fined a total of £100,000 ($128,000) for illegal tree felling in Wales. The case, brought by government-sponsored body Natural Resources Wales, saw one man fined over £78,000 for felling 8 ha of native woodland in the Gower area near Swansea, while another was fined £20,000 for bulldozing a riverside woodland over 0.3 ha, reported WalesOnline. Natural Resources Wales said it hoped the prosecutions sent a clear message.
SCIENCE & TECH
Crying wolf – Experts have disputed claims that a white wolf species has been brought back from extinction after some 10,000 years. Dallas-based biotech company Colossal Biosciences has claimed cloning and gene-editing, based on two ancient samples of DNA, led to the birth of three ‘dire wolf’ pups over the last six months – Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi, according to Time magazine. The animals are “genetically modified grey wolves” due to biological differences with dire wolves, some researchers have said, reported BBC. Colossal Biosciences plans to use similar techniques to ‘bring back’ the Ice Age woolly mammoth in 2028, by editing living cell nuclei from Asian elephants, alongside saving endangered species that lack genetic diversity.
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