All Namibia News’ Post

Shifeta urges rededication to biodiversity protection : Staff Reporter  The Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, has urged the public to renew their commitment to the crucial mission of protecting and preserving biodiversity.  The minister made this appeal during his speech commemorating International Biological Diversity Day, observed annually on 22 May to recognise the vital role biodiversity plays in sustaining ecosystems, providing food and medicine, and contributing to overall well-being. This year, Namibia commemorated the day in Lüderitz, //Kharas Region, under the theme “Be part of the Plan.”  Shifeta explained that the theme is a call to action for all stakeholders to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by supporting the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, also known as the Biodiversity Plan.  “Namibia is committed to the full implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its associated protocols,” he added.  He also revealed that his ministry has initiated stakeholder consultations to review the achievements, challenges, gaps, and bottlenecks in implementing the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.  The minister emphasised that biodiversity is under unprecedented threat from human activities such as deforestation, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, placing immense pressure on ecosystems worldwide. The consequences of biodiversity loss, he pointed out, are extensive, impacting food security, human health, economic stability, and cultural heritage.  “The Ministry recognises that the only way to reduce the decline in biodiversity is to transform people’s roles, responsibilities, actions, and their relationship to nature and biodiversity. Human activities produce greenhouse gas emissions, with around half remaining in the atmosphere and the rest absorbed by land and ocean ecosystems globally,” Shifeta said.  He therefore urged communities to work together to address the root causes of biodiversity loss and chart a course towards a more sustainable and equitable future.  “As we go about our daily lives, let us reaffirm our commitment to protecting and conserving biodiversity. Each species, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, plays a vital role in maintaining the balance of nature. Let us embrace the principles of sustainability, stewardship, and respect for all living beings as we strive to build a more harmonious relationship with the natural world,” Shifeta added. The post Shifeta urges rededication to biodiversity protection  appeared first on Informanté.

Why is biodiversity important to business? According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), $10 Trillion in Business Opportunity Value and Support for 395 Million Jobs by 2030.

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 by 𝑆𝑢𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑎 𝐷𝑎𝑠𝑔𝑢𝑝𝑡𝑎, 𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑟 & 𝐷𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑑 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟 Biodiversity is the foundation of a healthy planet and key to sustainable development. Diverse ecosystems provide clean water and food and regulate our climate, supporting both well-being and economic progress. Forests, oceans, and wetlands help stabilize the climate, protect against natural disasters, and support livelihoods in agriculture, fisheries, and ecotourism. As climate change and habitat destruction threaten these ecosystems, biodiversity conservation becomes essential for a resilient, prosperous future. Addressing this crisis requires urgent, coordinated global action. Since ecosystems and species habitats cross borders, coordinated action from all countries is critical to restore habitats and protect endangered species. Governments, industries, and communities must work together to develop stronger policies, increase conservation funding, and enforce protection. Reliable, up-to-date biodiversity data are crucial for effective conservation. Location-specific data help identify species at risk and monitor environmental changes, but limited access to public data, especially in developing regions, hinders progress. Traditional metrics focusing on terrestrial vertebrates are inadequate for emerging threats, and underfunded institutions struggle to keep data current, further widening the gap. Improved data collection and sharing are urgently needed for effective conservation strategies. The World Bank’s high-resolution gridded global biodiversity database, is covering nearly 600,000 species, including animals, plants, and other species across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems.  Built using machine-based pattern recognition on 50 years of georeferenced data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the database reveals 272,189 endemic species and 85,310 species at risk because they have very small occurrence regions. This new resource addresses a key knowledge gap, enabling more effective and targeted biodiversity conservation worldwide. https://lnkd.in/gAHM76em

Biodiversity offsetting 🍀🍀 Is the term used to describe the last stage of the mitigation hierarchy. If you are a developer or planning a construction project, you will need to consider existing habitats and wildlife especially those legally protected by the government. The main goal of biodiversity offsetting is to allow for development that is responsible and environmentally sustainable. 🟢Any new development has the potential to negatively impact native species and ecosystems, and offsetting is a policy tool that looks to improve a project’s conservation status despite this. It allows for economic growth and expansion while balancing out any lost biodiversity value at a different location - achieving either no net loss or a preferred net gain. 📉Currently there is little demand, with less than $1m of biodiversity credits sold, according to a report by Bloomberg NEF. Within biodiversity offsetting specifically, three key principles should be complied with to achieve successful offsets. 📍ADDITIONALITY 📍EQUIVALENCE 📍PERMANENCE 🖋️Biodiversity offsets must not be used in certain circumstances. For example, when a project may result in the extinction of species, when there is a high degree of uncertainty regarding the success of the offset, a clear lack of governance, or the values that will be lost are specific to a particular place, and therefore cannot be found elsewhere. 🖋️Implementing #biodiversity offsets is a long-term exercise. Biodiversity offset schemes should be measurable and appropriately implemented, monitored, evaluated and enforced, and take full account of direct, indirect and cumulative impacts, geographically and over time. 🖋️National laws and circumstances vary around the world, so there is no single approach to designing and implementing biodiversity offsets. However, policy should be based on sound principles and allow some flexibility and options as to how these are to be applied, subject to clear rules that specify the outcomes expected and set out basic requirements such as exchange rules, metrics and standards for delivery. Offset schemes should follow a Rights-based Approach, and take into account societal values in their design, implementation and governance

Switzerland’s biodiversity and its pressures - Do we do enough to keep the status or compensate for past losses to it? How does Switzerland’s area-based conservation effort compare to that of EU countries? The rapid implementation of habitat improvement measures in the Swiss farming landscape through subsidised eco-schemes (‘quality level II measures’) within a decade is definitively impressive and laudable! - Congrats to all farmers participating in these schemes and the support from the extension services! Nevertheless, the recorded loss of biological diversity represents “a danger to our prosperity and quality of life” the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) warns. Switzerland has one of the highest percentages of endangered species among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations. Urban sprawl, the fragmentation of habitats and intensive land use are among the main drivers of biodiversity loss in Switzerland. Fortunately, however, the Swiss unique dedication to invasive species control is unrivalled by any of the EU countries. https://lnkd.in/dJzKU6YX

🐸 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘀: 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 With $44 trillion of global economic value hinging on nature, safeguarding biodiversity is critical. Yet, conservation efforts have a $700 billion annual funding gap. In this illuminem article, we explore biodiversity credits as a key financing mechanism, focusing on the following aspects: ▶ Definition ▶ Differences between biodiversity offsets and credits ▶ Benefits and challenges ▶ The biodiversity market ▶ Comparison between carbon credits and biodiversity credits 👉  Discover how biodiversity credits can offer a new way to finance conservation and allow companies to invest in positive biodiversity impacts like habitat restoration and species protection: https://lnkd.in/eEFnbhXA #biodiversity #conservation #sustainability #illuminem #carboncredits

For the last two days, CMEC, ROCS and SSC have been hosting a highly successful and very well attended (physically and online) workshop comparing biodiversity protection efforts in the different Nordic countries and exploring how Nordic collaboration can better protection and restoration of biodiversity, as well as how a Nordic strategy for biodiversity can be developed. Finland, Iceland, and Denmark have very different infrastructures for protecting biodiversity and there are lessons to be learned through comparison. The threats to biodiversity differ greatly between the three countries but the common thread is competition between biodiversity and business (or defense) interests. Among the overarching messages that emerged were 1) The coming period will be characterized by the need to adopt a common definition of what constitutes "protected areas". Here, it was argued that the EU guidelines should be adopted by all Nordic countries and 2) there would be value in a common Nordic strategy for biodiversity protection. Particularly the companies operating in more than one Nordic country who attended the workshop argued for this. Bringing together researchers and other relevant stakeholders to identify the most important societal levers that can be used to protect biodiversity is something we definately will do again! Next time, we hope the Ministry for Green Transition, i.e., the Ministry with the responsibility for biodiversity protection in Denmark will participate. This time, they unfortunately declined to do so and we were, therefore, forced to rely on Carsten Rahbek, the Danish Society for Nature Conservation, The Ocean Institute, The Danish Confederation of Industries, The Chair of the Biodiversity Council, and Alexander Holm to describe for the rest of the Nordic community Denmark's official position with respect to biodiversity conservation.

📢 📢 📢 New Research Alert! We are excited to share our latest publication in Nature Sustainability, led by Christopher Crawford, PhD. This study investigates the opportunities and challenges of utilizing #abandonedcropland for biodiversity #conservation 🐦 🦁 Our findings reveal that the success of using abandoned croplands for conservation depends on key factors such as the unique habitat preferences of individual species, land recultivation, and the impacts of ongoing habitat loss. 📄 Read the article: https://lnkd.in/gFWzj6DF 📢 Press Release: https://lnkd.in/gEPDWSD2

COP16- Implementing the Kunming-Montreal  Global Biodiversity Framework Parties are meeting in Cali, Colombia on 21 October - 1 November 2024 for COP16 of the Convention on Biological Diversity ‘CBD’. It is the first such meeting since the breakthrough international agreement on Biodiversity, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was agreed by 196 countries in 2022, and the whole emphasis at COP16 will be about implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and potential future pathways. The stakes could not be higher. According the IPBES a million species are at risk of extinction. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew says that this could include two out of every five plant species. The implementation of the GBF requires international cooperation and recognizing the vital role that biodiversity plays in our economy, food security, climate stability, and planetary health. The GBF has been described as nature’s ‘Paris Agreement’ moment, but everything depends on its implementation: the willingness, for once, for parties to an international agreement to do what they have said they will do. Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed implementation targets in Daichi, Japan in 2010, but totally failed to live up to them. Delegates and participants in Cali need to ensure that the GBF fares differently, and that by 2030 the world is halting species extinctions and turning to restore the nature-depleted wasteland that will impoverish us all. In our coverage of COP16 at Cali, with the help of our colleague zahra sarfraz chattha, we will focus on what was actually agreed in the Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022 – the Four Goals and 23 Targets : and on the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans that countries are supposed to be working on to meet their commitments for 2030 and 2050. For an introduction to biodiversity and why it matters, see our 6 minute film Biodiversity and Climate Change here - https://lnkd.in/eif3THbg For more background on the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework see our earlier blog here - https://lnkd.in/ekuFmAyP Global Youth Biodiversity Network, Mock COP The POP (Protect Our Planet) Movement Youth4Climate Clara Brown Greener is Cleaner Kevin Mtai Kelo Uchendu Jamie Agombar Wildlife and Countryside Link The Wildlife Trusts RSPB WWF Buglife

Last week’s post discussed the emerging voluntary biodiversity credit market as a mechanism for financing biodiversity protection, regeneration, and stewardship. The Montreal-Kunming Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed upon at COP15, specifically mentions biodiversity credits as a potential tool to mobilize the $200 billion annual target for biodiversity financing. But measuring biodiversity is complex. Unlike carbon credits, which are straightforward—one unit equals one ton of CO2—biodiversity encompasses all living species on Earth, and assessing species richness and diversity over time is no simple task. Various standards and schemes have been proposed. For example, THE OPERATION WALLACEA TRUST methodology defines a biodiversity credit as a 1% uplift in biodiversity, or avoided loss of biodiversity, per hectare, based on a basket of at least 5 metrics reflecting national and local biodiversity targets for specific habitats. That’s just one approach. Pollination’s 2023 State of Voluntary Biodiversity Credits report (Laura Waterford, Veda FitzSimons, Olivia Back) identified 38 different biodiversity credit schemes, but found consistent issues in the majority reviewed, including: 1️⃣ Ecosystem Coverage: Current schemes often focus on terrestrial ecosystems, overlooking coastal, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. 2️⃣ Protected Areas - Many schemes exclude protected areas and High Forest Cover, Low Deforestation countries due to current additionality requirements. 3️⃣ Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPs and LCs) - Despite Indigenous lands containing over 80% of the world’s biodiversity, most schemes lack comprehensive requirements for obtaining free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and don’t require co-ownership, partnership or benefit-sharing. Mongabay has since reported that Savimbo is a notable exception, developed in collaboration with Indigenous leaders. Unlike the Wallacea Trust model, it focuses on one key species to monitor, which is representative of the health of the ecosystem. This simplified approach could enable greater direct participation from Indigenous communities. While achieving consensus on shared definitions and frameworks is challenging, it's only the first step. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post exploring the supply and demand dynamics of this emerging market. #ConservationFinance #BiodiversityCredits