Measuring net-positive outcomes for nature using accounting

Burnett, Peter; Vardon, Michael; Keith, Heather; King, Steve; Lindenmayer, David B.

doi:10.1038/s41559-020-1108-7

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…22 This can help translate the high-level aspirations of international agreements into practical actions on the ground. 23 In turn, local actions can be reported and accounted for at national and international levels, 12,24 thereby demonstrating society's cumulative progress toward global outcome goals. A critical element of an effective shared response is re-porting by non-State actors (such as businesses) using a framework consistent with that used by governments.…”

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confidence: 99%

Four steps for the Earth: mainstreaming the post-2020 global biodiversity framework

et al. 2021

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The upcoming Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting, and adoption of the new Global Biodiversity Framework, represent an opportunity to transform humanity's relationship with nature. Restoring nature while meeting human needs requires a bold vision, including mainstreaming biodiversity conservation in society. We present a framework that could support this: the Mitigation and Conservation Hierarchy. This places the Mitigation Hierarchy for mitigating and compensating the biodiversity impacts of developments (1, avoid; 2, minimize; 3, restore; and 4, offset, toward a target such as "no net loss" of biodiversity) within a broader framing encompassing all conservation actions. We illustrate its application by national governments, sub-national levels (specifically the city of London, a fishery, and Indigenous groups), companies, and individuals. The Mitigation and Conservation Hierarchy supports the choice of actions to conserve and restore nature, and evaluation of the effectiveness of those actions, across sectors and scales. It can guide actions toward a sustainable future for people and nature, supporting the CBD's vision. THE NEED FOR TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE FOR BIODIVERSITYThere is overwhelming evidence that human actions are driving a crisis for biodiversity, and that transformative change is needed. 1,2 The post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework should be agreed at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) upcoming 15th Conference of the Parties. The Global Biodiversity Framework will hopefully provide the necessary impetus for transformative change not just for nations but for corporations, industries, and the general public. The idea of integrating a "net outcomes" ambition into this global plan has gained ground, [3][4][5] with conservation organizations calling for a "nature-positive" Global Goal for Nature by 2050 (https://www. naturepositive.org).Ambitious conservation goals must translate into real-world action. 6,7 Very few elements of the CBD's existing Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for 2011-2020 have been successfully ll

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confidence: 99%

Four steps for the Earth: mainstreaming the post-2020 global biodiversity framework

et al. 2021

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“…Current accounting frameworks for conservation impact within the CBD are not transparent or are poor reflections of reality. 4,14 Use of these frameworks means we are overestimating progress toward conservation outcomes. At the same time, these frameworks also fail to identify places that do an exceptional job at retaining or improving elements of biodiversity.…”

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confidence: 99%

Talk is cheap: Nations must act now to achieve long-term ambitions for biodiversity

et al. 2021

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“…Since its inception in 1953 the SNA has evolved and is used around the world by governments and business in decision‐making (Obst & Vardon, 2014). In comparison to economic and social information systems, the environment is poorly serviced (Burnett et al, 2020) and environmental information deficiencies have been identified for Australia (OECD, 2019; Samuel, 2020).…”

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confidence: 99%

Biodiversity accounts for the butterflies of the Australian Capital Territory

Bond

Vardon

2022

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Biodiversity accounting is promoted as a way of improving the conservation of species and ecosystems. Advancing the theory and practice of biodiversity accounting is driven by the United Nation's standardization of ecosystem accounting in 2021 and a desire to make production of ecosystem accounts commonplace and useful. While the theory of biodiversity accounting has advanced, in practice few accounts have been produced and all have focused on iconic or threatened species. We present a set of novel biodiversity accounts for the 92 butterfly species of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), spanning 1978–2021, using historical records and systematic surveys of 224 sites between 2014–15 and 2020–21 in the Southern Hemisphere survey season (Spring‐Autum). We conclude that species level biodiversity accounting is useful for biodiversity conservation and that species accounting must go beyond accounting for iconic and threatened species and reflect other characteristics, such as the distribution, abundance, residential status, breeding status, endemism, and ecological status of all species. Habitat specialization provides a link to ecosystem condition accounting, with changes in the distribution and abundance of habitat specialists a likely indicator of ecosystem condition. With such information, species accounts can be used to assess and target conservation activity and examples for ACT butterflies are provided.

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Measuring net-positive outcomes for nature using accounting

Cited by 6 publications

References 4 publications

Four steps for the Earth: mainstreaming the post-2020 global biodiversity framework

Four steps for the Earth: mainstreaming the post-2020 global biodiversity framework

Talk is cheap: Nations must act now to achieve long-term ambitions for biodiversity

Biodiversity accounts for the butterflies of the Australian Capital Territory

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