Stepping Up Global Biodiversity Protection

Our report proposes nine financial mechanisms to either provide new sources of funding, or to reduce harmful subsidies and investment. We hope the CBD negotiators will take them seriously.

Seven principles for a post-coronavirus economy.&nbsp;See URL: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/7-principles-for-a-post-coronavirus-economy/2020/04/10/e96328a0-7b3c-11ea-9bee-c5bf9d2e3288_story.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">washingtonpost.com/opinions/7-principles-for-a-post-coronavirus-economy/2020/04/10/e96328a0-7b3c-11ea-9bee-c5bf9d2e3288_story.html</a>

ROSE: Given his experience of guiding the US response to the financial crisis of 2008, Hank fully understands the economic pressures faced by governments right now, and he also has a strong sense of the serious environmental and public health risks facing the international community. Hank always says, a thriving economy is dependent on a healthy environment. Successfully addressing the climate change and biodiversity crises will depend on collaboration by all major countries, particularly between China and the US, the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world.&nbsp;We know collaboration can be politically difficult at times, but where that collaboration is firmly in our mutual interest, politicians must have the strength and leadership to make it happen.&nbsp;

With historic rates of extinction and habitat loss, humans must act to preserve biodiversity. Learn more about the importance of COP 15.

Why is 2020 a critical year for nature?

We have brought together some of the best minds on these issues and, as you will see when the report is published in July, there will be a set of strong and robust messages to governments, the financial sector, and corporations.

KRISTIN: Did you say $14T in value just from pollinating insects, such as for our food?

Governments need to integrate biodiversity conservation into these stimulus plans.

ROSE: We already know that COVID-19 has caused the biggest global economic disruption, since the Great Depression, even greater than the financial crisis of 2008. At the same time, not as immediately front and center yet, we are facing unprecedented climate and biodiversity crises, both of which present even more serious risks to human prosperity.&nbsp;

The legal proposals shaping the future of wildlife in China. See URL: <a href="https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/11940-The-legal-proposals-shaping-the-future-of-wildlife-in-China" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/11940-The-legal-proposals-shaping-the-future-of-wildlife-in-China</a>

<li>Identifying the key public and private policies, financing mechanisms, and enabling conditions required to close the financing gap;</li>

As governments around the world design and implement stimulus plans to kickstart their economies, they cannot focus only on the short-term necessity to restart a "business as usual" economy. They need to integrate biodiversity conservation into these stimulus plans.

<li>Presenting a strong economic case for why governments and other actors should take immediate actions to invest in biodiversity;</li>

<li>Developing specific and measurable finance targets, and implementation mechanisms for consideration at the CBD Conference.</li>

China’s announcement on wildlife trade – What’s new and what does it mean? See URL: <a href="https://www.iccs.org.uk/blog/chinas-announcement-wildlife-trade-whats-new-and-what-does-it-mean" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">iccs.org.uk/blog/chinas-announcement-wildlife-trade-whats-new-and-what-does-it-mean</a>

ROSE: It is an important step, that the Chinese government has cracked down on wet markets and also will revise the Wildlife Protection Law, to ban the wildlife trade in the near future. The key is for them to enforce these policies.

Paulson Institute's Rose Niu speaks about "Resetting Our Financial World" at the Smithsonian's Earth Optimism 2020 Digital Summit

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As the countries start to rebuild their economies after this global crisis, it reminds us how interlinked we are and how important nature is to the economy.

Skip to 51:28 to watch Rose Niu's remarks.

VIDEO: Smithsonian's Earth Optimism Digital Summit

The pandemic of COVID-19 is a wake-up call about the reality of the risks we face and how those risks are linked to our relationship with nature.

KRISTIN: We have known for some time that&nbsp;we have been building our economic systems for growth, but not resilience.&nbsp;Rose Niu, Chief Conservation Officer of the Paulson Institute, is with us to tell us about the economic value of nature. This important work relates to the UN Convention on Biodiversity—or CBD. The next CBD conference will be held next year when the countries of the world come together to agree on how better to protect, manage, and finance nature in the next decade. The Paulson Institute, The Nature Conservancy, and Colombia and Cornell universities will release a report in July outlining important recommendations.

KRISTIN: The Paulson Institute's Chairman Henry M. Paulson, Jr., recently wrote a great op-ed on the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/7-principles-for-a-post-coronavirus-economy/2020/04/10/e96328a0-7b3c-11ea-9bee-c5bf9d2e3288_story.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="sm-text-color-themeColor1">"7 Principles for a post-Coronavirus Recovery"</a>—the environment was one—can you elaborate on that?

It’s been a perfect storm—climate change, epic biodiversity loss, and now COVID-19. Is there a way to integrate solutions and how does investing in biodiversity play a role?&nbsp;&nbsp;

KRISTIN: Environment and economy are two sides of the same coin. Thank you Rose!

Rose Niu, Chief Conservation Officer at the Paulson Institute, was a featured panelist at the <a href="https://earthoptimism.si.edu/calendar/2020-dc-summit/events/resetting-financial-world/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Smithsonian's Earth Optimism digital summit</a>. She spoke about protecting biodiversity and shared key lessons drawn from the current pandemic crisis. Her remarks, gathered from her conversation with Kristin Rechberger, CEO of Dynamic Planet, are below.

Looking forward, however,&nbsp;the pandemic of COVID-19 is a wake-up call about the reality of the risks we face and how those risks are linked to our relationship with nature.&nbsp;As we count the cost of this pandemic, both in terms of human lives and our economies, we must learn lessons.&nbsp;At the same time, we must realize that we have ignored the much larger risks, posed by climate change and biodiversity loss. The upcoming CBD Conference, COP 15, will be a key early test for the international community to work together to address those risks. As the countries start to rebuild their economies after this global crisis, it reminds us how interlinked we are and how important nature is to the economy. We have to remember that environment and economy are two sides of the same coin.

<li>Estimating the funding flows, projected needs, and gaps of global biodiversity conservation;</li>

ROSE: Our report responds directly, in economic and financial terms, to global biodiversity loss.&nbsp;The report focuses on four key elements:

RO﻿SE: Yes! And there is still a lot we don’t know about the consequences of biodiversity loss. Therefore, we must enhance global biodiversity protection. It’s like an insurance policy against many of the unforeseeable risks.

KRISTIN: What are the specific findings&nbsp;and&nbsp;recommendations&nbsp;from your research report?

KRISTIN: Can we touch on the origination of the pandemic—the fact that COVID-19 jumped from wildlife to humans.&nbsp;What’s the key lesson we should learn?

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The major reason for losing our biodiversity so fast is a lack of understanding and lack of integration of the value of nature into economic decision-making.&nbsp;The benefits of nature are largely public goods and knowledge, both of which are “externalities” in an economic sense.&nbsp;Therefore, we cannot rely on market forces to solve the problem of biodiversity loss. Policy intervention is essential.&nbsp;

In the last 50 years, since the first Earth Day, we are losing nature at an alarming rate.&nbsp;Some people might say, “ok, that’s sad, but does it matter?”&nbsp;The answer is yes! Nature is fundamental to our survival.&nbsp;From clean air, clean water, food and medicine, the services provided by nature underpin all economic activity and human wellbeing. Today, we are only beginning to understand the true value of nature, whether it’s the estimated 14 trillion USD capital value of pollinating insects or the fact that at least 33% of medicines come from natural sources.&nbsp;