Accounting for biodiversity loss
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POLLINATION: AN ESSENTIAL REGULATING NCP
NATURE’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO PEOPLE
[fig. 3]
Pollination is an example of a regulating NCP fundamental to food production and global food security. The presence of biologically diverse species of insects and animals increases the size, quality and stability of harvest for 70% of the world’s leading crops. 14 For example, a study in Costa Rica found a 20% increase in annual yield in coffee plantations situated within 1km from the forest edge. 15 In South Africa, mango yields were enhanced when patches of wild native flowers were planted in agricultural fields. 16 In financial estimates, the annual global value of crop pollination services is between USD 195 billion and USD 387 billion. 17 Yet over the past 50 years habitat conversion for production, use of pesticides and fertilisers, and the introduction of invasive species have led to a decline in pollinator diversity. 18 Such decline has an adverse effect on human nutrition, especially in tropical regions, where one-third of the diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants. 19 Loss of wild pollinators also impacts wild plants and the species depending on them for food, which can have far-reaching ecosystem consequences. 20 A Dutch study found that the Dutch financial sector’s exposure to the risk from a decline in pollination services amounted to EUR 28 billion. 21
REGULATING NCPS
MATERIAL NCPS
– Flood regulation – Water purification – Erosion control – Disease regulation – Waste decomposition – Crop pollination
– Wood and fiber – Fresh water
– Fuel – Food
NATURE’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO PEOPLE (NCPS)
– Genetic resources – Pharmaceuticals
NON-MATERIAL NCPS – Spiritual experiences – Recreation – Physical and mental well-being
– Religious values – Cultural values – Cultural landscape
The twin crises – biodiversity and climate change
Mangroves 23 and peatlands 24 have even greater carbon sequestration potential 25 , while the ocean holds 38,000 gigatons of carbon. Conversely, degradation and destruction of ecosystems can exacerbate climate change. For instance, land-use change, including deforestation and peat drainage, was responsible for 9 to 19% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions between 2010 and 2019. 26 The preservation of carbon sinks and the creation of new ones is key to achieving the Paris Agreement goal to keep the increase in global average temperature to below 2°C and ideally 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century. 27 Such “nature-based solutions” are also vital for adaptation to an already-changing climate: coral reefs protect coastlines against storm surge and wetlands absorb storm water and reduce land temperatures. 28
At the same time as the value of biodiversity and the price of its decline have become apparent, many have started looking at biodiversity as part of the solution to the most prominent planetary crisis. One of the most important ecosystem services in a world facing climate change is carbon sequestration. Terrestrial and marine ecosystems are important sinks for carbon dioxide (CO2) and contribute significantly to stabilising the climate. Old-growth and regenerating forests can absorb as much as two gigatons of carbon dioxide annually. 22 14 Alexandra-Maria Klein et al., Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world cops, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 27 October 2006. 15 Lucas A. Garibaldi et al.,Wild Pollinators Enhance Fruit Set of Crops Regardless of Honey Bee Abundance, Science, 28 February 2013. 16 Luísa G. Carvalheiro et al., Creating patches of native flowers facilitates crop pollination in large agricultural fields: mango as a case study, Journal of Applied Ecology - Wiley Online Library, 5 November 2012. 17Rafaella Guimarães Porto et al., Pollination ecosystem services: A comprehensive review of economic values, research funding and policy actions, SpringerLink, 19 May 2020. 18 The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, HM Treasury, February 2021
Ecosystem services: Nature’s contributions to people
Regulating NCPs - regulate and maintain ecosystem processes such as water flows that prevent flooding, or erosion control that prevents landslides. Material NCPs – provide materials and energy for products that humans extract from the environment, such as fresh water, food or pharmaceuticals. Non-material NCPs - offer non-material benefits, such as spiritual experiences, recreation, and well-being (physical and mental health). These are often difficult to qualify in monetary terms. 13 [fig. 3]
Ecosystem services, or nature’s contributions to people (NCP) is a way of describing the multiple benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. 10 The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) pioneered the notion of NCPs in 2018, 11 building on the “ecosystem service” concept popularised by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) more than a decade earlier. 12 According to the IPBES framework, NCPs fall under three broad categories:
23 Jonathan Sanderman et al., A global map of mangrove forest soil carbon at 30m spatial resolution, Environmental Research Letters, 30 April 2018. 24 Joannie Beaulne et al., Peat deposits store more carbon than trees in forested peatlands of the boreal biome, Scientific Reports, 29 January 2021. 25 Daniel M. Alongi, Carbon sequestration in mangrove forests, ResearchGate, April 2014. 26 Climate Change 2021 - The Physical Science Basis, IPCC, 2021. 27 Keeping 1.5°C Alive: Actions for the 2020s, Energy Transitions Commission, September 2021. 28 What Are Nature-Based Solutions And How Can They Help Us Address The Climate Crisis?,WWF, 10 November 2020.
10 Living Beyond Our Means - Natural Assets And HumanWell-Being, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 1 March 2005. 11 Sandra Díaz et al., Assessing nature’s contributions to people, Science, 19 Janu- ary 2018. 12 Living Beyond Our Means - Natural Assets and HumanWell-Being, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 1 March 2005.
19 Ibid. 20 Ibid.
21 Joris van Toor et al., Indebted to nature – Exploring biodiversity risks for the Dutch financial sector, Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving, November 2020. 22 Thomas A. M. Pugh et al., Role of forest regrowth in global carbon sink dynam- ics, PNAS, 21 December 2018.
13 Sandra Díaz et al., Assessing nature’s contributions to people, Science, 19 Janu- ary 2018.
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