Protecting and Restoring Nature, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services

Protecting and Restoring Nature: A Getting Started Guide

The wellbeing of society and business is dependent on nature. Anchored in research, this guide aims to support your company as it begins or revisits a nature and biodiversity strategy. It helps build a foundational understanding of the issue and provides clarity on the work ahead.

The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review

This global review on the economics of biodiversity calls for changes in how we think, act, and measure economic success in order to protect and enhance our prosperity and the natural world. The review thoroughly explains the foundation of the biodiversity crisis, and includes key recommendations for reversing the human-caused decline in biodiversity, such as expanding and improvement of protected areas; increased investment into nature-based solutions; the creation or improvement of policies to eliminate damaging consumption of natural assets; the incorporation of natural capital accounting; and proper valuation of ecosystem services into all national accounting systems. This comprehensive deep-dive is a key reference point for sustainability professionals that want to account for nature in decision-making.

Taking a Credible Position on Nature

There is growing pressure on companies to publicly acknowledge the unprecedented nature loss we face, and what they plan to do to address it. To help them do so, we reviewed over 1,000 statements on nature loss, biodiversity, and ecosystem stewardship from a wide range of geographies and industries, and identified examples of how companies are explaining the issue of nature loss, linking the issue of nature loss to their strategy, and clarifying their commitments to protect and restore nature. We hope this guide is helpful to you in articulating your own credible position statement on protecting and restoring nature.

Biodiversity Loss and Land Degradation: An Overview of the Financial Materiality

This brief from CISL explains biodiversity loss and land degradation, why they matter, the financial implications of such decline, and methods for quantification. This brief may be a helpful primer for executives and board members who want to better understand how to prioritise these issues and to determine the cost of inaction.

IPBES Invasive Alien Species Assessment

This resource from the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warns that over 37,000 alien species have been introduced by human activities to regions and biomes around the world, with significant impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems, communities, and economies. It assesses the array of invasive alien species and their effects; analyses the extent of threats towards specific categories of ecosystem services and biodiversity; highlights trends and identifies key drivers of the introduction and spread of invasive species; and more.

Although this was created with policymakers in mind, this is a good resource for helping sustainability change agents to learn the extent of invasive alien species impacts on their industry and beyond.

The Sustainable Use of Natural Resources: The Governance Challenge

This brief from the International Institute for Sustainability Development (IISD) is a good primer on the key natural resource management topics. It explains key trends in natural resource use; key actions required to support resilient systems; and the pressing need for inclusive governance and transformative change.

Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy

This report, the first in the World Economic Forum's 'New Nature Economy' report series, will help you to better understand the dependency and impact of business on nature. The report uses a simple three-stage breakdown: 1) acknowledging and explaining the crisis of biodiversity decline, 2) identifying material risks, and 3) managing material risks. This report explores the scale and urgency of the biodiversity decline emergency and the drivers of nature loss, and provides a helpful fit-for-purpose framework for managing nature-based risks.