1) Accounting for Nature: financing solutions for our planet's natural systems 

While COP15 may have stalled, efforts to protect biodiversity cannot afford to. The biodiversity crisis poses as great a risk to human life as climate change but has a fraction of the public profile and remains an economic externality. Nevertheless, tackling nature-related risks is set to become a new frontier for sustainable business and finance, according to Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and co-chair of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). Policymakers, financial institutions and companies are confronted with the difficult balance of harnessing natural capital while mitigating their impact on the planet. How to raise the cash to protect the ecosystems we depend on and improve how we account for natural capital poses a stiff challenge for corporates, governments, asset managers and financial institutions.

Read the report: https://www.eco-business.com/research/accounting-for-nature-financing-solutions-for-our-planets-natural-systems/

2) The Value of Biodiversity for Asia's Megacities

Asia’s urban populations have grown significantly over the past three decades as people flock to cities, in search for jobs. A 2019 study by the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum found that most of the region’s population, over 2.3 billion people, now live in cities with an additional 1.2 billion people expected to join them by 2050. With droves of people settling in cities, Asia is expected to be home to 27 megacities (cities of over 10 million people) by 2030.

But such rapid, and often unplanned, urban development has come at a heavy cost for the natural environment. The loss of habitats resulting from deforestation, wetland drainage, destruction of grasslands and mangroves to make way for and to support the growth of these urban centres has had a huge impact on biodiversity. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) flagship Living Planet Report 2020 found that the numbers of mammals, birds, fish, plants and insects have fallen by an average of 45 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region from 1970 to 2016.

Read the report: https://www.eco-business.com/research/the-value-of-biodiversity-for-asias-megacities/

3) Ocean of Solutions: Protecting biodiversity in the blue economy

Marine biodiversity is in a monumental crisis. Despite more attention to understand the impacts of anthropogenic-driven climate change on land and marine biodiversity in recent years, the effects of climate change and economic activity such as fishing are still poorly understood. Consequently, the steps needed to restore ocean health have not materialised. This high-level report summarises the leading causes of declines in marine biodiversity in Asia-Pacific and offers six recommendations that could strengthen the protection of marine-life based on interviews conducted with stakeholders in marine conservation.

Read the report: https://www.eco-business.com/research/ocean-of-solutions-protecting-biodiversity-in-the-blue-economy/