A unified approach can improve nature, climate and health all at once

The major environmental, social and economic crises facing the world today, including biodiversity, climate change, health, food and water, are closely linked, and we must work together to tackle them. has many advantages. However, focusing on just one issue can exacerbate other crises.

This is the conclusion of a major report compiled by 165 researchers from 57 countries and approved by 147 governments over the past three years.

United Nations conventions on issues such as biodiversity and climate focus on these issues separately. “So what we will do now in this report, which has not been done before, is to combine all of these and make sure that looking at these crises individually is not only inefficient, but actually the real danger. “It’s about showing that it’s accompanied by something,” says Paula Harrison from the UK centre. Ecology & Hydrology co-chaired the report evaluation process. “Action is urgent, but if we do not act in a way that takes these interdependencies into account, we will create new problems or exacerbate existing ones.”

Mr Harrison said the scientific studies assessed for this report provide strong evidence that there are a number of actionable actions that can have beneficial effects on all five areas simultaneously. . These include conserving and restoring mangrove forests, improving soil health and carbon content, creating early warning systems for all kinds of hazards, reducing the risk of disease spread from animals to humans, and universal health insurance. It includes international cooperation on technology related to the problem.

There is a trade-off. Actions that have broad benefits are not the same as actions that are the best solution to a particular problem, she says.

“What you can’t do is get the best value possible at the same time,” Harrison says. “While we cannot optimize food production without negatively impacting everything else, we can take a balanced approach that benefits all.”

Harrison gives the example of planting trees to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If the focus is solely on climate, the trees selected are likely to be fast-growing non-native species that do not support wildlife and affect water supplies by taking up too much water. However, if a project takes a more holistic approach, it may choose native tree species that use less water and increase biodiversity. “It may not sequester as much carbon, but it will add a lot of value to other aspects of the system,” Harrison says.

There are also economic benefits to integrated approaches that help conserve biodiversity and achieve other goals. The Nexus report states that more than half of the world’s gross domestic product ($50 trillion), as it is officially known, is moderately to highly dependent on nature.

Pamela McElwee of Rutgers University says, “The unaccounted costs of our current approach to economic activity, including climate change impacts on biodiversity, water, health, and food production, are at least $10 trillion a year.” It is estimated that the total amount is 25 trillion dollars. Another co-chair from New Jersey said in a statement.

“There is a lot of evidence that there are very strong and growing biophysical risks to economic prosperity and financial stability if we continue the way we are,” Harrison said.

The Nexus report was compiled by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Although IPBES is not the United Nations, it operates in a similar way to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report was formally approved by representatives of the 147 IPBES member countries who met in Namibia on 16 December.

The report is very ambitious, says IPBES Executive Director Anne Larrigadery. Its purpose is to provide the science and evidence needed to support the achievement of other international conventions, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and the Paris Agreement on climate change. , she says.