Nature conservation is a public good, not a market | Opinion | Eco-Business

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class="eb-article__standfirst">Private investment in conservation is always welcome but the evidence suggests governments will need to do the heavy lifting when it comes to repairing nature.</h2> </div> <div class="eb-article__media"> <figure class="eb-article__featured-image"> <img src="https://eco-business.imgix.net/ebmedia/fileuploads/42322556855_603cd72758_k.jpg?ar=16%3A10&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=django-1.2.0&q=85&width=320" alt="Biodiversity_Credits_Rhino" srcset="https://eco-business.imgix.net/ebmedia/fileuploads/42322556855_603cd72758_k.jpg?ar=16%3A10&auto=format&dpr=2&fit=crop&ixlib=django-1.2.0&q=45&width=320 640w, https://eco-business.imgix.net/ebmedia/fileuploads/42322556855_603cd72758_k.jpg?ar=16%3A10&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=django-1.2.0&q=85&width=700 700w, https://eco-business.imgix.net/ebmedia/fileuploads/42322556855_603cd72758_k.jpg?ar=16%3A10&auto=format&dpr=2&fit=crop&ixlib=django-1.2.0&q=45&width=480 960w, https://eco-business.imgix.net/ebmedia/fileuploads/42322556855_603cd72758_k.jpg?ar=16%3A10&auto=format&dpr=2&fit=crop&ixlib=django-1.2.0&q=45&width=700 1400w, https://eco-business.imgix.net/ebmedia/fileuploads/42322556855_603cd72758_k.jpg?ar=16%3A10&auto=format&dpr=2&fit=crop&ixlib=django-1.2.0&q=45&width=1100 2200w" sizes="(min-width: 1300px) 1100px, (min-width: 740px) 700px, 100vw"> <figcaption id="eb-article-featured-image-caption" class="eb-article__featured-image__caption"> A recent Biodiversity Council survey showed more than 90 per cent of Australians want far greater government investment in conservation, to better care for and protect the ecosystems and wildlife we know and love. Image: <a title="Go to Tim Evanson&rsquo;s photostream" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/timevanson/" rel="author">Tim Evanson</a>,<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"> CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/timevanson/42322556855/sizes/l/"> Flickr</a>. 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src="https://eco-business.imgix.net/uploads/users/user_profiles/portraits/thumbnail.jfif?dpr=2&fit=crop&h=60&ixlib=django-1.2.0&q=45&w=60" alt="Professor Euan Ritchie" class="eb-article__byline__author-portrait-img"> </div> </div> <div class="eb-article__byline__author-name"> By <a class="author-link" href="/about/profile/62624/">Dr Yung En Chee</a> and <a class="author-link" href="/about/profile/62625/">Professor Euan Ritchie</a> </div> </div> <div class="eb-article__meta__time"> 6 minute read <span class="eb-article__meta__divider"></span> <time class="eb-article__byline__publish-date" datetime="Oct. 14, 2024, 11 a.m.">Oct. 14, 2024</time> </div> </div> </div> <div class="eb-article__body"> <section class="eb-article__body-content"> <div class="wire-column__preview__content--item-detail-item-text"> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Leaders from across government, the private sector, research, the environment and First Nations peoples met in Sydney last week for the world’s first </span><a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/international/nature-positive-summit"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Global Nature Positive Summit</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The summit is in recognition that in addition to the need to conserve remaining biodiversity, countries also need to be actively repairing lost or degraded nature, in order to benefit from the many values and ecosystem services they provide.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The event, co-hosted by the Australian and New South Wales governments, aims to boost investment from industry and the private sector to better protect and restore the environment.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As </span><a href="https://x.com/tanya_plibersek/status/1809117020014981171"><span style="font-weight: 400;">the federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek said on X (previously Twitter) in July 2024</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">: “Nature protection and repair is a massive job. Government funding has a critical role to play. But we can’t do it alone. This is what the first ever Nature Positive Summit will focus on.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All political rhetoric aside, while industry and private investments in nature conservation are always welcome, the </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/would-a-nature-repair-market-really-work-evidence-suggests-its-highly-unlikely-199975"><span style="font-weight: 400;">evidence is lacking</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that strongly relying on the private sector for an essential public good is a promising approach.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Given the scale and speed of environmental devastation driven by economic choices, it isn’t logical to expect that the environmental harm </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iICpI9H0GkU"><span style="font-weight: 400;">caused by capitalism and markets</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> will be solved by — capitalism and markets.</span></p> <h4><strong>Nature repair markets</strong></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In December 2023, legislation was passed in the Australian parliament to set up </span><a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/environmental-markets/nature-repair-market"><span style="font-weight: 400;">a nature repair market</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-hopes-private-investors-will-help-save-nature-heres-how-its-scheme-could-fail-193010"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The nature repair market</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is designed to function through issuing certificates for approved biodiversity projects that will result in enhancement or protection of biodiversity that would otherwise not occur without the project (this is called ‘additionality’).</span></p> <blockquote> <h2 class="quote">“</h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When we consider that the economy is a </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“wholly owned subsidiary”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the environment, it is simply an </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">absurd proposition to claim government can’t provide the lion’s share of investment</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> required to turn the tide on biodiversity decline.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Certificates may be issued when the project is </span><a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/files-au-climate/climate-au/p/prj2e537a410bf1c54f46e44/page/Nature_Repair_Market_Discussion_Paper_Final_1_.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“sufficiently progressed that it has or is likely to achieve the biodiversity outcome”</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> as determined by an applicable method.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These certificates enable biodiversity outcomes to be owned and traded separately from the underlying land on which the project is carried out. Multiple certificates could be issued for a project area — a notion known as </span><a href="https://www.forest-trends.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Stacking-Bundling-Resource-Paper-01-11-18.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘stacking’</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Certificates are expressly prohibited from use for environmental offsetting purposes, given their </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/22/nsw-environmental-offsets-failing-to-halt-wildlife-decline-inquiry-told"><span style="font-weight: 400;">well-publicised issues</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/16/enormous-sum-of-money-40m-windfall-from-nsw-environmental-offsets-sparks-calls-for-inquiry"><span style="font-weight: 400;">abuse</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, given the complexity of nature repair biodiversity certificates, </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/would-a-nature-repair-market-really-work-evidence-suggests-its-highly-unlikely-199975"><span style="font-weight: 400;">serious concerns</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> have been raised with such a market, including:</span></p> <ol> <li aria-level="1" style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Complexity and scheme integrity. Stacking has serious implementation problems, it is difficult to prevent double-dipping and one of the </span><a href="https://www.forest-trends.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Stacking-Bundling-Resource-Paper-01-11-18.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">most comprehensive reviews of stacking recommends against it</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></li> <li aria-level="1" style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lack of clarity of use rights. Certificates could be issued for actual, verified outcomes as well as projected outcomes, making it unclear what claims certificate holders or buyers can make without risking false or misleading claims under Australian consumer law.</span></li> <li aria-level="1" style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A lack of demand. It’s not known if </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-hopes-private-investors-will-help-save-nature-heres-how-its-scheme-could-fail-193010"><span style="font-weight: 400;">enough businesses will choose to voluntarily purchase enough certificates</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to meet their corporate and social responsibility, and hence, ensure the market functions.</span></li> </ol> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hence the viability of a nature repair market remains a big unknown, while what is certain is that </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/jan/22/australian-wildlife-threatened-species-list-record-added-2023"><span style="font-weight: 400;">nature is declining at rapid and record rates</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a December 2022 report, McKinsey estimated the current value of global nature credit markets </span><a href="https://www.naturemarkets.net/publications/global-nature-markets-landscaping-study"><span style="font-weight: 400;">at more than US$5 billion a year</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But nearly three-quarters of this US$5 billion a year valuation was due to compliance-driven demand.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nature market enthusiasts, </span><a href="https://www.naturemarkets.net/publications/the-future-of-biodiversity-credit-markets"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nature Finance and Taskforce for Nature Markets</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, acknowledged that: “Repeated cycles of policy commitments and market innovations by the international community have not delivered meaningful financial flows to enable nature’s stewards to secure the protection and regeneration of nature.”</span></p> <h4><strong>What are the alternatives?</strong></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There is a far more sensible, tractable, and rapid path to protecting Australia’s biodiversity, and its myriad social, cultural, economic and environmental values and benefits. </span></p> <ol> <li aria-level="1" style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reduce or </span><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-04/koala-habitat-cleared-without-federal-approval/104414272"><span style="font-weight: 400;">stop nature negative activities</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, including </span><a href="https://biodiversitycouncil.org.au/news/nature-negative-the-federal-government-subsidies-harming-biodiversity"><span style="font-weight: 400;">harmful subsidies</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Support and invest in what we want more of and prohibit or increase tax on what we want to see less of. </span></li> <li aria-level="1" style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Immediately increase federal government investment to a minimum of </span><a href="https://biodiversitycouncil.org.au/news/top-scientists-call-on-australian-government-to-allocate-federal-funding-towards-nature-protection-and-management"><span style="font-weight: 400;">1 per cent of the annual budget</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This would be transformative for nature conservation, and is entirely affordable. </span></li> <li aria-level="1" style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Introduce the full environmental law reform package promised by the Albanese government, that’s </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-long-sought-stronger-environmental-laws-just-got-indefinitely-deferred-its-back-to-business-as-usual-228090"><span style="font-weight: 400;">now overdue and with no timeline for delivery</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></li> </ol> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists estimates that </span><a href="https://wentworthgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Blueprint-to-Repair-Australias-Landscapes-Part-I-Synthesis-Report-Accessible.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">approximately AU$7.3 billion annually for 30 years — a total of AU$219 billion — could fund 24 activities</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that would go a long way to turning around Australia’s </span><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/why-is-australia-a-global-leader-in-wildlife-extinctions-20200717-p55cyd.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">dire conservation record</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and current trajectory.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Putting aside the fact that Australia is a sovereign nation and hence can fund whatever it chooses, at any extent, at any time, and for </span><a href="https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/covid-19-vaccines/about-rollout/vaccine-agreements"><span style="font-weight: 400;">any serious emergency</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, budgets represent what governments value and to what extent.</span></p> <p><a href="https://biodiversitycouncil.org.au/news/nature-negative-the-federal-government-subsidies-harming-biodiversity"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A recent report into harmful subsidies from the Biodiversity Council</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> states: “The total monetary value of Australian Government subsidies that we identified as likely to have a medium to high adverse impact on biodiversity is US$26.3 billion per year, based on 2022-23 figures. That is 50 times larger than the approximately US$475 million per year that the Australian Government invests in biodiversity, such as on threatened species recovery, feral animal control and work to reduce pollution to the Great Barrier Reef.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Governments fund what they consider to be priorities. </span><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-12/revamped-aukus-document-reveals-how-us-and-uk-can-walk-away/104214398"><span style="font-weight: 400;">More than AU$360 billion has been committed to the much-criticised AUKUS agreement</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is not in line with the community’s priorities.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A recent Biodiversity Council survey showed </span><a href="https://biodiversitycouncil.org.au/admin/uploads/2024_Biodiversity_Concerns_Report_f6ea3e5ee1.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">more than 90 per cent of Australians want far greater government investment in conservation</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, to better care for and protect the ecosystems and wildlife we know and love.</span></p> <h4><strong>Aligning economic and environmental policy</strong></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When we consider that the economy is a </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-inconvenient-truth-of-herman-daly-there-is-no-economy-without-environment-193848"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“wholly owned subsidiary”</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the environment, it is simply an </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/03/federal-budget-2023-australia-being-unable-afford-greater-environmental-protection-myth-refuses-die"><span style="font-weight: 400;">absurd proposition to claim government can’t provide the lion’s share of investment</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> required to turn the tide on biodiversity decline.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Especially, as it may be </span><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4306836"><span style="font-weight: 400;">far cheaper and more effective for government to fund conservation directly</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s irrefutable that the best way to improve the state of the environment and better conserve species is to </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/08/environment-summit-taking-place-in-sydney-while-greater-glider-habitat-is-logged-is-bullshit-advocates-say"><span style="font-weight: 400;">stop doing the things that harm biodiversity</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Environmental law and its enforcement in Australia is failing, miserably so, as detailed extensively in </span><a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/epbc/our-role/reviews"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Professor Graeme Samuel AC’s review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just as a responsible doctor wouldn’t prescribe garlic to treat a patient’s cancer, governments shouldn’t continue to permit the </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/30/bulldozers-in-darwin-begin-destroying-habitat-of-hundreds-of-bird-species-as-lee-pointbinybara-construction-begins"><span style="font-weight: 400;">destruction of habitats</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and the </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/sep/24/tanya-plibersek-approves-three-coal-mine-expansions-in-move-criticised-as-the-opposite-of-climate-action"><span style="font-weight: 400;">expanded use and reliance on fossil fuels</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and hope a nature repair market will drive substantial positive conservation outcomes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Economic and environmental policy </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/out-of-alignment-how-clashing-policies-make-for-terrible-environmental-outcomes-226509"><span style="font-weight: 400;">must be aligned</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <h4><strong>Environmental law reform</strong></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Albanese government promised to end environmental neglect and deliver a comprehensive environmental law reform package. This has not happened.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The package has been </span><a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/epbc/epbc-act-reform"><span style="font-weight: 400;">split into three oddly sequenced stages</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The first consisted of the nature repair market and an expanded EPBC water trigger.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The second, currently being debated, is the establishment of Environment Protection Australia (EPA) — to assess impacts of proposed developments and compliance with law — and Environment Information Australia — to provide data to inform the EPA’s environmental decision-making.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The government has suggested it </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/sep/02/labor-government-environment-watchdog-delays"><span style="font-weight: 400;">may be willing to water down the EPA’s role and functions</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, raising concerns about its ability to prevent development that harms biodiversity.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stage three addresses the centrepiece of reforms — the national environmental standards — that are </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-long-sought-stronger-environmental-laws-just-got-indefinitely-deferred-its-back-to-business-as-usual-228090"><span style="font-weight: 400;">essential for the EPA to function</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> effectively. This has been delayed indefinitely.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Currently, the Australian government also </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/sep/16/anthony-albanese-climate-trigger-environment-legislation-scott-morrison"><span style="font-weight: 400;">appears unwilling to include a climate trigger</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which would be aimed at explicitly considering the emissions of developments and their impacts on climate change, and hence biodiversity.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The environment is a public good, and our lives, livelihoods and quality of life are fundamentally dependent upon it. Most importantly, we have a responsibility to act as responsible custodians and conserve the extraordinary life we share the lands, seas and waters with.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If Australia, and indeed the world, is to truly achieve its goal of being </span><a href="https://biodiversitycouncil.org.au/admin/uploads/What_does_Nature_Positive_mean_for_buisiness_and_governments_e9bbc7f328.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">nature positive</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> — </span><a href="https://www.naturepositive.org/what-is-nature-positive/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">halting and reversing nature loss by 2030 on a 2020 baseline, and achieving full recovery by 2050</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> — in accordance with the </span><a href="https://www.cbd.int/gbf/targets"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and avoid yet more obfuscation and </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-will-protect-a-vast-swathe-of-the-southern-ocean-but-squanders-the-chance-to-show-global-leadership-240789"><span style="font-weight: 400;">greenwashing</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, firm, binding commitments must be made at the Global Nature Positive Summit.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An urgent and substantial increase in government investment in nature conservation and the introduction of the overdue full environmental law reform package, before the next federal election, are non-negotiables.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Australia has an opportunity to be a global conservation leader, </span><a href="https://theconversation.com/threatened-species-have-declined-2-a-year-since-2000-nature-positive-far-from-it-230116"><span style="font-weight: 400;">not a laggard and pariah</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, we must seize this opportunity.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Professor Euan Ritchie is a professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at Deakin University, councillor of the Biodiversity Council, and president of the Australian Mammal Society. His research aims to better understand species and their interactions, as well as ecosystem dynamics. This information is vital for informing more effective environmental policy, and conservation and management of biodiversity.</span></em></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr Yung En Chee is an applied ecologist in the Waterway Ecosystem Research Group at The University of Melbourne. Her research interests include spatial and ecological modelling, decision analysis and reasoning under uncertainty. She works on how ideas and methods from these fields can be used to improve conservation and environmental decision-making.</span></em></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Originally published under </span></em><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Creative Commons</span></em></a><em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by </span></em><a href="https://360info.org/"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">360info</span></em></a><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">™.</span></em></p> </div> <div class="eb-article__eb-circle-banner"> <div class="eb-item eb-item--no-image eb-item--cta-mobile eb-item--cta-tablet eb-item--cta-eb-circle" data-item-num="6"> <div class="eb-item__container"> <div class="eb-item__content"> <div class="eb-item__header"> <h3 class="eb-item__title"> Like this content? 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Nature conservation is a public good, not a market | Opinion | Eco-Business | Asia Pacific