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 STORY
Biodiversity funds pass $1.5 bln in 2023 with eight fund launches
Biodiversity-specific funds passed $1.5 billion by the end of 2023, with eight vehicle launches throughout the period despite relative underperformance across the board.
MARKET
UK government announces £4.5 mln water credit pilot with tap aerators
The UK government has announced a water credit pilot in Cambridge through retrofitting water-efficient devices, such as tap aerators, into buildings at a cost of up to £4.5 million ($5.8 mln) to enable the development of thousands of houses.
Dutch company to pilot biodiversity credit project in Australia
A Dutch nature-based solutions developer plans to launch a biodiversity credit pilot in Australia by the end of September.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Mirova’s Climate Fund for Nature announces second close at €195 mln
French asset manager Mirova has announced the second close of the Climate Fund for Nature at €195 million ($213 mln) with investments from three corporations.
UK-based financial group partners with Projects for Nature to fund restoration programmes
A British financial services group has teamed up with the government-launched Projects for Nature, planning to fund projects on nature recovery and becoming the first founding business partner of the initiative, the company announced Tuesday.
TOOLS & GUIDANCE
Overlooked umbrella species could better inform conservation programmes, study finds
Rethinking the monitoring criteria of umbrella species will enhance biodiversity conservation efforts, leading to more efficient and cost-saving programmes, researchers have found.
Cost of nature loss much higher than governments estimate, study shows
Government decision-making methods have fallen short of assessing the actual monetary value of ecosystem services by up to 180%, a study has shown.
PROJECTS
Italian region allocates almost €11 mln for nature conservation projects
A regional council in northern Italy has allocated €10.5 million from the EU to fund projects aimed at protecting and restoring biodiversity, warning that conservation efforts must expand beyond existing protected areas.
SCIENCE & TECH
Restored coral reefs grow as fast as healthy ones but are less biodiverse, study finds
Degraded coral reefs can recover at an “incredible” pace, growing at the same speed as healthy ones that have not been restored after just four years of management, although they tend to be poorer in biodiversity, a research has found.
Russia-Ukraine war to trigger cropland expansion worldwide, study says
The Russian invasion of Ukraine could lead to cropland expanding over eight million hectares worldwide, driving biodiversity loss as far away as the Americas, a study has estimated.
Nature data gaps are narrowing as technologies improve, experts say
Gaps in nature data are narrowing as technologies enable companies in extractive sectors to scale up ecosystem monitoring, say experts from data company NatureMetrics.
MARKET
Mangroves in the petrostate – The Delta State, an oil-rich state in Nigeria, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with UK-based investor Serendib Capital, granting it permission to restore thousands of mangroves. The project has the potential to sequester around 5 mln tonnes of carbon each year from the avoided deforestation of 250,000 ha, as well as 20,000 ha of reforestation. The agreement last week lasts over a 30-year period, and is renewable for another 30 years.
A new DAC unit for agriculture – Amsterdam-based climate tech company Skytree has launched its second direct air capture (DAC) unit for onsite carbon capture and utilisation in large greenhouses and vertical farms. The firm’s Stratus unit, launched Monday, can capture 1.25 tonnes of CO2 per day using the technology, which can then be deployed to enrich crop yield and increase productivity across controlled-environment agriculture (CEA).
Being Wall-E – The Indian government is planning to launch an online platform for trading e-waste responsibility certificates, developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Business Standard reported. The government’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) certificates policy, initially launched in 2022, will help India tackle the growing trouble of e-waste, from items such as defunct mobile phones and laptops, among others. CPCB will also be responsible for setting the price range of these certificates, which are expected to be between 30-100% of the environmental compensation amount imposed for failing to meet EPR obligations.
POLICY
Transport for butterflies – Transport for London (TfL) has published a plan to improve biodiversity across its networks. The scheme aims to help the government body ensure it meets commitments such as achieving 10% biodiversity net gain on applicable schemes, boosting tree canopy cover across its land by 10% by 2050 compared with 2016, and doubling the coverage of wildflower verges to 260,000 square metres this year. Butterfly Conservation charity said: “We have supported the expansion of the wildflower verges trail [by] engaging local volunteers in butterfly recording, and advising on planting schemes to support butterflies.”
Saving mangroves – Indonesian oil major, Pertamina, is planning to implement a mangrove rehabilitation programme in the southernmost province of Indonesia, East Nusa Tenggara, the oil firm said in a press release Monday. Since 2021, the firm has been involved in the mangrove rehabilitation programmes throughout the Southeast Asian country under Pertamina Forest Social & Environmental Responsibility (TJSL). Pertamina, which has planted more than 6 mln trees till date, is eyeing the rehabilitation of 600,000 ha of mangroves in the country and hopes to increase livelihoods of local communities by the process, it said. The programme will be implemented with the collaboration of Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
Addressing threats – Queensland has allocated $730,000 in funding for the recovery of threatened species as part of the state’s Threatened Species Programme. The grant will finance nine research projects seeking to identify and mitigate the main threats faced by species such as seahorses, frogs, and night parrots. Queensland is the most biodiverse state in Australia, but more than 1,000 species are currently listed as threatened under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act.
Free to flow – The Karlovac County Council in Croatia has voted to protect the Mreznica and Tounjcica rivers following an initiative supported by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). In January, TNC launched the United for Rivers campaign, a coalition of six organisations aiming to protect over 400 km of rivers throughout the Western Balkans. The initiative targeted the conservation of 13 rivers, including the Mreznica and Tounjcica rivers, through the establishment of protected areas across Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.
Game on – The Philippines’ Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has launched Animal Town, a mobile phone game about conservation. The app serves as an educational tool and awareness raiser, while generating revenue for the department through ads and in-game purchases. The country’s biodiversity budget this year totals 4 bln pesos ($72 mln), far below the 25 bln pesos UNEP has estimated is needed. DENR expects the game to raise over 810,000 pesos this year, according to PhilStar.
OECMs ahoy – The IUCN is working with a number of Asian countries on developing domestic frameworks for Other Effective area-based Conservation Efforts (OECM). In an update this week, the group said more than 30 types of potential OECMs had been identified that could help the East Asian country meet its GBF commitments. The government is currently putting together a list of potential sites, with an announcement due in the second half of the year.
SCIENCE & TECH
Farmer charmer – A study has explored how perceptions of farmers across 10 European countries relate to their biodiversity management. It discovered their perceptions of biodiversity “strongly influenced” their management practices, those valuing biodiversity for its services adopted targeted approaches, and those recognising an inherent value of nature adopted holistic approaches. The report, published in Biological Conservation and led by an academic from the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, proposed an approach of “ethical pluralism” to help farmers tackle the nature crisis.
Mass bleaching – The iconic Great Barrier Reef off Australia’s coast has been hit by another mass bleaching event, say officials, as reported by the BBC. Bleaching occurs when heat-stressed corals expel the algae that gives them life and colour. The event marks the fifth time in eight years that widespread damage has been detected at the Unesco World Heritage site. Up until 2016, just two mass bleaching events had occurred at the site. Following a summer of high temperatures, most parts of the Great Barrier reef are experiencing prevalent bleaching, according to an aerial survey of 320 reefs. Stretching over 2,300km (1,400 miles) off Australia’s north-east coast, the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral system and one of its most biodiverse habitats.
Got a tip? How about some feedback? Email us at news@carbon-pulse.com
