The abundance of monitored wild animal populations around the world has declined by an average of 69% between 1970 and 2018. This is code red for the planet and humanity. The crisis is not just taking place within the confines of the conservation sector, it is fundamentally affecting businesses.
The Living Planet Report, recently released by the World Wide Fund for Nature, revealed these startling statistics. Detailing results from the Living Planet Index, which tracks the abundance of 32,000 populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians around the world, the report provides a comprehensive overview of the state of nature in the world, the main drivers of loss, and what steps need to be taken to build a nature-friendly society.
But the devil is really in the details. Humanity’s demands on nature, from producing food and fiber to absorbing excess carbon emissions, amount to overexploitation of at least 75% of our planet, according to the report. This is the equivalent of living with 1.75 Earth.
One million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction. 1 to 2.5% of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish have already disappeared. With regard to distinct species and ecosystems, the figures are no less alarming. Every year we lose about 10 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Portugal.
Mangroves, an essential nature-based solution to climate change, continue to be deforested by aquaculture and coastal developments at the current rate of 0.13% per year. The global abundance of oceanic sharks and rays has declined by 71% over the past 50 years, largely due to an 18-fold increase in fishing pressure since 1970.
Freshwater species suffered the most, recording an overall global decline of 83%. Only 37% of rivers over 1,000 km remain free-flowing over their entire length, affecting the routes of migratory fish, which have seen an average decline of 76% between 1970 and 2016 due to habitat loss and barriers to migration routes.
Latin America (including the Amazon) shows the largest regional decline in average population abundance (94% in 40 years), followed by Africa at 66%.
The report is a clear call to action. “We know what is happening, we know the risks and we know the solutions. What we urgently need now is a plan that unites the world to face this existential challenge”, urges Marco Lambertini, managing director of WWF International.
“Agreeing on a positive global goal for nature is crucial and urgent.”
The report calls on governments to take action by, among other things, ending subsidies that encourage activities that degrade ecosystems, shifting to sustainable production and consumption, including transitioning to a circular economy, and requiring businesses to exercise human rights and environmental due diligence. throughout their supply chains. This is where companies need to be careful.
A report by the World Economic Forum in 2020 found that businesses are more dependent on nature than previously thought, with an estimated $44 trillion in economic value generation – half of global GDP – moderately or highly dependent. of nature. The depletion of nature puts this figure in danger.
But companies face other risks as a direct or indirect consequence of ecosystem collapse. For example, the legal risks associated with the entry into force of new regulatory levers to limit impacts on biodiversity, including strict rules on the commercial use of specific areas, reforms of subsidies, taxes and fines. Companies also face reputational risks and changes in consumer behavior if the products and services they provide are shown to have negative impacts on biodiversity.
Additionally, the requirement for companies to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) in their supply chains is gaining traction internationally. The report acknowledges that: “Currently, global momentum is building to move beyond voluntary sustainability commitments previously put in place by individual entities, towards legally binding due diligence processes governed by countries or blocs. importers. »
This has important implications for businesses. With mandatory HRD laws in place, it will no longer be possible to decouple products and services from biodiversity impacts in a company’s supply chain. Businesses will be required to act on biodiversity throughout their value chain, disclose where risks arise and take action to manage them.
This generation of HREDD goes beyond simple reporting obligations and creates new standards of care for companies to act to mitigate human rights and environmental harm in their value chains. This requirement is already developing in the European Union, which published its proposal for a directive on the duty of care in terms of sustainable development of companies on February 23rd.
The directive, which once adopted will be transposed into national laws by EU Member States, sets out the steps that should be included in HRDHR processes, including the identification, assessment and prevention of human rights abuses. human rights and the environment, and the communication of these elements to the public. These due diligence obligations apply not only to a company’s own operations, but also to its subsidiaries and value chains, including “third country” companies above a certain turnover. .
Further action under HREDD has also been spurred by the United Nations Human Rights Council declaring in October 2021 that having a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a human right. A policy brief by David Boyd, special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, acknowledges that given the scale at which large multinational corporations operate and environmental and human rights abuses that may be suffered in their national and transnational value chains, effective and fair measures of human rights law and environmental due diligence is fundamental.
This increase in obligations to trace and identify environmental impacts through due diligence regulation and disclosure standards means companies will have the knowledge, control and foresight to be held accountable for misconduct. prevent or mitigate the loss of biodiversity. Moreover, as knowledge about biodiversity loss and risks increases, the standards of care expected of directors will increase. It is important for South African companies to stay abreast of international trends that may impact their operations, or possibly be transposed into South African law.
Nature is eroding at a disastrous rate. The Living Planet Report paints a bleak picture, and it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to assess and address their role in this degradation, not only because of their reliance on healthy ecosystems, but also the liability and reputational risks to which they may be exposed. should they be complicit in the collapse of the ecosystem.
Companies must respond to these risks by mapping vulnerabilities and exposure to biodiversity risk, including for subsidiaries and value chain partners. Given the enormous reach of corporations, their role in stemming the tide of biodiversity loss is crucial.
Kate Handley is an environmental lawyer and executive director of the Biodiversity Law Center, a non-profit legal clinic that seeks to use the law to reverse the catastrophic decline of biological diversity in southern Africa. New24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse opinions. The opinions of columnists published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the opinions of News24.