Business, Wetlands & Water. Lucy Emerton Environment Management Group

Transcription

1 Business, Wetlands & Water Lucy Emerton Environment Management Group

2 growing recognition of global biodiversity values Biome Area (mill ha) Global value ($ trill/yr) Open ocean 33,200 8,381 Coastal 3,102 12,568 Tropical forest 1,900 3,813 Temperate forest 2, Grass/rangelands 3, Tidal marsh/mangroves 165 1,648 Swamps/floodplains 165 3,231 Lakes/rivers 200 1,700 Cropland 1, Total 51,625 33,268 Costanza, R. et al The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387:

3 growing recognition of public biodiversity values 100 % 92% 80 % 75% 60 % 59% 46% 40 % 31% 20 % 0 % Per capita GDP Employment Exports & forex Government revenues Foreign investment Emerton, L Making the Economic Links Between Biodiversity and Poverty Reduction: The Case of Lao PDR, IUCN Ecosystems and Livelihoods Group Asia, Colombo

4 urgent search for new funding and partners proportion to Protected Areas (%) $100m 100% $80m 80% $60m 60% $40m 40% $20m 20% funding to wetlands & biodiversity (US$ mill) $0m % Emerton, L Trends in Donor Funding to Protected Areas: A Case Study of Lao PDR. OECD, Paris

5 bringing in business traditionally business has had little role in planning and implementing wetland conservation activities increasing participation of private sector as investors and partners growing use of economic, financial and business approaches getting the prices, markets and incentives right

6 growing recognition of corporate biodiversity value sustainability-related global business opportunities in natural resources projected to be worth US$2-6 trillion by 2050 current biodiversity offset market valued at US$3 billion, and is growing rapidly 55% of corporate executives believe that biodiversity should be among the top ten items on the corporate agenda 59% of corporate executives view biodiversity as more of an opportunity than a risk for their companies WBCSD Guide to Corporate Ecosystem Valuation: a framework for improving corporate decision-making. World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Geneva

7 business motivations: corporate responsibility the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families, as well as of the local community and society at large (World Business Council for Sustainable Development)

8 business motivations: triple bottom-line three indicators of performance: financial social/ethical environmental

9 business motivations: avoiding risks & capturing opportunities business risks & opportunities operational regulatory & legal reputational market & product financing capturing and pricing new income streams saving costs reducing taxes sustaining revenues revaluing assets assessing liability and compensation measuring company value and share value reporting performance enhancing business performance and the financial bottom-line complying with external demands and requirements WBCSD Corporate Ecosystem Valuation: Building the Business Case. World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Geneva

10 sustaining revenues CONELEC s investments in upstream forest conservation to control erosion in Ecuador, and thus preserve reservoir capacity and power generation at Paute hydroelectric scheme

11 decreasing company costs Coca Cola s investments in catchment conservation in Brazil, in order to reduce expenditures on water quality treatments at bottling plants

12 capturing new income Chevron-Texaco s investments in wetland restoration in Louisiana, to generate credits for sale on the wetland mitigation banking market

13 offsetting liabilities International Paper s conversion of forest land in Georgia into a conservation bank, allowing the expansion of operations into other forests of lower conservation value

14 reducing corporate tax burdens Allegheny Power s conservation of wetland, forest and wildlife values in West Virginia, so as to claim federal tax deductions

15 tools and approaches are becoming institutionalised

16 in Asia, there are some exciting and innovative experiences of business involvement in sustainable wetlands management

17 corporate partnerships India, Indonesia, Philippines & Sri Lanka International Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership (ICWRP) to protect, restore and enhance impaired but ecologically important wetlands. Identified projects include Ramsar and World Heritage sites in India, Indonesia, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

18 fund contributions Kazakhstan Biodiversity Conservation Fund of Kazakhstan, capitalised via GEF Integrated Conservation of Priority Globally Significant Migratory Bird Wetland Habitat project, now starting to attract domestic corporate sponsorship (e.g. Air Astana, Kazakhmys)

19 direct funding Viet Nam Coca Cola is supporting activities aimed at grassland restoration, hydrological recovery and the eradication of invasive alien species in Tram Chim National Park, and supporting sustainable livelihoods among Buffer Zone communities.

20 payments for ecosystem services Viet Nam Decree 99 of 2010 enables payments by industrial and commercial users for soil and water protection, forest carbon sequestration, landscape and biodiversity conservation, and provision of natural breeding grounds, feed sources, seeds and water sources for aquaculture.

21 biodiversity offsets Viet Nam Biodiversity offset project under preparation in Kien Giang grasslands and karst landscape to compensate for impacts of limestone quarrying by strengthening the management of areas of equal or higher biodiversity value nearby, involves the establishment of two new nature reserves.

22 biobanking Malaysia Public-private partnership to rehabilitate and protect Malua Forest Reserve as a Conservation Bank, based on an endowment fund financed by the sale of Biodiversity Conservation Certificates.

23 business, wetlands and water: how to better engage? much of the responsibility lies with us, as wetland planners, managers and researchers need to shift the paradigm, and approach, from our traditional focus on governments, donors and the public interest start to demonstrate why and how it makes good business sense to invest in the conservation and wise use of wetlands and move beyond the view that we hold the monopoly on planning, implementing and controlling wetland management

24 Thank You