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

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TOP STORIES

Scotland backs standard for community benefits in nature projects

The Scottish government has backed a project to produce a certification standard for community participation in nature projects, with a wide net of collaborators spanning the private and public sectors.

FEATURE: AI speeds up understanding of biodiversity and could improve decision making on nature

Developments in artificial intelligence (AI) are speeding up the time it takes to process large amounts of scientific data and could potentially help scientists make better decisions about how to preserve biodiversity, say industry experts.

MARKET

Developers team up to scale nature-based solutions in Latin America, eye biodiversity credits

French and Peru-based developers of nature-based solution projects have partnered to scale up reforestation, afforestation, and agroforestry initiatives in Latin America, aiming to generate both carbon and biodiversity credits.

India’s biggest packaged water company proposes framework to establish water credits for the beverage industry

India’s biggest bottled water company has proposed developing a framework for establishing water credits to make the beverage industry accountable for its water use.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Dutch asset manager raises €12 mln to launch biodiversity fund

A Dutch investment manager has launched a fund seeking to finance innovative solutions to tackle the biodiversity crisis, with seed capital of €12 million, Carbon Pulse has learned.

Investment group urges Canada to close nature market policy gaps

Canada needs to close the policy gaps in its approach to biodiversity offsets and stormwater credits, such as third-party investor involvement, a conservation investment-focused network said in a paper this week.

Over 40% of securities held by French financials highly dependent on ecosystems, study finds

French financial institutions are highly exposed to risks associated with biodiversity loss, with over 40% of securities in their portfolios issued by companies heavily dependent on at least one ecosystem service, a paper has found.

TOOLS & GUIDANCE

SBTN flags challenges with setting nature-based targets for cities

The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) highlighted challenges in its development of nature-based targets for cities including skills, data, and geographical differences on Tuesday.

POLICY

Governments must leverage private sector’s interest in nature to take action on biodiversity, study says

Government-led mandatory schemes and voluntary market-based instruments must be combined to effectively protect biodiversity, a study published Tuesday said, calling on countries to harness the private sector’s growing interest in engaging on nature positive.

NGOs call on Scottish govt to scale investments in nature amid concerns over biodiversity credit plans

Scotland must urgently ramp up public investments in nature protection, a group of NGO has said, expressing concerns over the impact of biodiversity credits following the government’s plans to support the development of the voluntary market in the country.

EU biodiversity negotiator urges companies to increase engagement ahead of COP16

Companies should ramp up their efforts in monitoring and reporting their biodiversity impacts rather than wait for a regulatory framework to be established, the EU lead negotiator for the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) has said.

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CONFERENCE

The HackSummit, Europe’s largest gathering of ClimateTech builders and investors is coming to Lausanne, Switzerland on June 13-14. And you’re invited. You’ll be in great company with 1,500 of the brightest minds in climate and biodiversity, including Marty Odlin of Running Tide, Kevin Webb of Superorganism, Zoe Balmforth of Pivotal, Leo Caprez of BrainForest and Sonja Stuchtey of The Landbanking Group. And it’ll probably be the most fun you’ll have at a ClimateTech Summit this year. Ready to join? Use the code CARBONPULSE20 to save 20% on your pass.

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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

POLICY

Twenty-six and counting – Greece has joined the call for a global moratorium or pause on deep sea mining, becoming the 26th country to do so. The Greek government signed a joint statement on maritime cooperation with France, which has been calling for halting the controversial practice since 2022. The statement also includes commitments to advancing negotiations on the global plastic treaty, which is due to be finalised by the end of this year, as well as strengthening the network of marine protected areas.

Higher seas – The nations of Mauritius and Micronesia became the latest states to announce their intention to ratify the UN high seas treaty, in Antigua on the sidelines of the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States. The agreement seeks to conserve marine life in areas beyond state boundaries in the high seas and on the seabed. As of April, 89 countries had shown their commitments to ratifying the BBNJ, though only four had formally done so.

In reserve – In Australia, the Queensland state government on Monday announced it will declare the 8,000-ha Edgbaston Reserve its second special wildlife reserve. Located near Longreach in Central Queensland, the reserve is home to the most significant natural springs for global biodiversity in the Great Artesian Basin and one of the most important in the world, it said. It is home to 26 plant and animal species found nowhere else in the world.

SCIENCE & TECH

Emerging risk – The latest report about cross-border and emerging risks by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) published Saturday cited biodiversity loss among the main concerns. Researchers listed five main drivers of nature loss: land and sea use change, direct exploitation of land and seas, climate change, pollution – including plastics and nutrients -, and invasive alien species. JRC urged policymakers to cooperate with scientific experts to develop a reliable risk analysis of biodiversity loss relevant for the country, in a bid to halt the decline.

Antz – A species of blue ant has been discovered by scientists in the Eastern Himalayas, Forbes has reported. The insect marks the first new species of its type to be found on the Indian subcontinent in 121 years. The researchers have dubbed the bug Paraparatrechina neela, with ‘neela’ meaning ‘blue’ in several Indian languages. Blue ants have previously been spotted in Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand, but they are unusual.

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