30 November 2017
Twyla Holland,
Programme Manager – Business & Biodiversity, Fauna & Flora International
Conserving global biodiversity without compromising economic development is a defining challenge of the 21st century.
In light of the unprecedented global decline in biological diversity, together with the goods and services it provides, the world is waking up to the fact that attainment of sustainable development goals is inextricably linked to more effective and responsible management of biodiversity.
Businesses, which rely on everything from fresh water to protection from natural disasters, are recognising that they need to look at the big picture – how their activities are linked to biodiversity and ecosystem services – in order to thrive, and the number of businesses that are setting more targeted and measurable environmental goals, and making commitments to achieving a net positive impact on biodiversity, is increasing.
Achieving a net positive impact (NPI) on biodiversity means that a project’s overall negative impacts on biodiversity are outweighed by the biodiversity gains that are achieved through conservation projects in the same region (though it is inevitable that some losses will still occur at the development site and that the gains may not be perfectly balanced to losses with regard to the time, space or type of biodiversity affected). Where a company has a target of no net loss of biodiversity (NNL), biodiversity gains match losses to ensure that there is no overall reduction in the type, amount or condition of biodiversity.
