Nature got a new deal when the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was agreed on in late 2022, after four years of gruelling negotiations.
The framework was adopted by 188 governments and sets the biodiversity action agenda for the next decade.
People For Wildlife’s Executive Director Dr Daniel Natusch welcomed the Framework’s targets to achieve the sustainable use and management of biodiversity.
“The key takeaway from the framework is that we need urgent, transformative action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, and we need everyone, everywhere, involved.
“People For Wildlife is pleased that business is recognised as critical to delivering the innovation, investment, and business models needed to achieve targets.”
“We’re also heartened that sustainable use is now part of the global conversation. It goes to the core tenets of our organisation’s mission.
The framework calls for biodiversity to be sustainably used and managed, and for nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, to be appropriately valued.
Dr Natusch said one of the main reasons we undervalue nature is a lack of understanding of the interconnectedness between people and nature, and the importance of maintaining balance.
“When we start to understand that our survival and well-being rely on the natural world, we recognise the importance of living in harmony with it.
“At face level, nature doesn’t cost us anything, so it’s easy to undervalue or overexploit it. We cut down forests, overfish oceans, pollute waterways and degrade land, often without taking the long term impact into account. Nature is free, but using it unsustainably costs us greatly.
There’s growing awareness that biodiversity loss and other nature-related risks, are a major threat for business – with half of our global GDP moderately to highly dependent on nature.
The impact of a commodity extends far beyond its material value in the supply chain. Production and distribution has social and environmental impacts – which can be good, or bad.
Consumers are increasingly considering these broader factors when making purchase decisions, and along with an environment of increased regulatory demand, businesses are looking to become more accountable to nature.
Many are already taking action and rethinking their strategies to incorporate social and environmental considerations into the design and management of supply chains.
“We’re seeing exciting things happening around the world, and now we just need action mainstreamed,” said Dr Natusch.
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