In a world facing unprecedented environmental challenges, the need to go beyond traditional "carbon credits" and embrace the complexity of our planetary crisis has never been more critical. With this in mind, ERA, in collaboration with the Regen Network, has brought to life the Biodiversity Stewardship Credit Methodology. This post is the first in a series aimed at unveiling the emerging biodiversity market, explaining the crucial role that biodiversity credits play in planetary restoration, and introducing ERA's unique approach to this vital field.
After all, what are Biodiversity Credits, how are they generated, and why are they so important?
Biodiversity is the backbone of healthy and resilient ecosystems, and its preservation offers numerous benefits, from sustaining economies to ensuring clean water, pure air, and life for future generations. However, we face monumental obstacles in conserving biodiversity, such as accelerated deforestation, climate change, and the loss of natural habitats. These challenges not only threaten the rich tapestry of life on Earth but also human survival itself.
In this context, biodiversity credits emerge as an innovative solution to encourage biodiversity conservation. These credits are measurable and traceable units of biodiversity that are generated through concrete conservation actions verified by specific methodologies, like the Biodiversity Stewardship Credit Methodology developed by ERA.
These credits can be traded and sold, functioning as economic tools that allow individuals and companies to expand and prove their commitment to positive environmental impact, financially supporting projects that promote the recovery and protection of vital ecosystems.
This approach not only generates direct financial resources for conservation but also links ecological well-being to economic progress, creating a virtuous cycle of environmental and social benefits, thus driving a new bioeconomy based on nature.
The Market for Biodiversity Credits
As the world awakens to the urgent need for biodiversity-focused actions, a new market emerges, reflecting the search for solutions that address this crisis from a holistic and deeply ecological perspective. Faced with an estimated annual funding gap of $700 billion by the World Economic Forum (WEF), necessary to reverse biodiversity decline by 2030, biodiversity credits emerge as an indispensable tool. The projection is that the global demand for biodiversity credits could reach $2 billion by 2030 and skyrocket to $69 billion by 2050. Various factors have fueled this growing interest:
· Commitments to nature: Companies are increasingly aware of the importance of biodiversity and recognize that investing in biodiversity credits can support their immediate and priority needs. Such corporate commitments to nature encourage the search for these credits.
· Reliability and high standard: The robustness and high standard of biodiversity credits are attractive to companies and investors. Confidence in the integrity of these credits is essential to drive demand.
· Simplicity and geographical scope: The ease with which companies can integrate biodiversity credits into their operations and sustainability strategies, as well as the availability of credits in various geographical regions, make the system more attractive to buyers and sellers.
· Link with carbon credits: The ability to associate biodiversity credits with carbon credits has also contributed to growing interest. This synergy allows companies to address both climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation.
It is important to highlight that biodiversity credits go beyond the traditional notion of environmental compensation, well-known in the carbon credit market. Acquiring biodiversity credits means actively participating in conservation or habitat recovery, promoting projects that offer a net positive impact on biodiversity. This is a move towards a more harmonious and sustainable relationship with our planet, marking a new era in conservation financing focused on enhancing biodiversity, not compensating for damages.
There is a broad consensus that biodiversity credits should not be used as a way to avoid the mitigation hierarchy. This is because they are generated independently of the losses or impacts caused by a specific company/project, i.e., they are not designed to compensate for environmental damage.
Moreover, unlike traditional carbon methodologies based on outcomes, ERA's Biodiversity Methodology is practice-based, developed under the aegis of environmental management. In this approach, the pricing of credits is determined by the actual cost of implementing ecosystem regeneration/conservation practices.
In other words, the question is how much it costs to implement a practice, not how much a particular ecosystem service is worth to humans or financial markets, because the value of biodiversity is immeasurable! This shifts the focus from "incentivizing" through profit to "supporting" regenerative practices, thus avoiding the commodification of nature.
ERA's Biodiversity Methodology
The Biodiversity Stewardship Credit Methodology stands out for its adaptability to any species of mammal and birds in different biomes and the inclusion of traditional communities due to its simplicity to understand, start, and apply. Our goal was to develop a methodology that simply rewarded the earth's guardians who are conserving native vegetation. A payment for ecosystem services for conservation, but not based on the threat of deforestation, like the REDD+ mechanism of the carbon market.
We believe that native vegetation has intrinsic value, with or without the concept of additionality, and that we urgently need to boost funding for conservation to protect the remaining native vegetation, as habitat and biodiversity are crucial for human survival. The number of credits is, therefore, based on the amount of hectares of native vegetation that the earth's guardian is preserving.
This also means directing funding to traditional communities and small landowners, who are generally excluded from the application of the carbon methodology REDD+, which requires large areas and a risk of nearby deforestation.
We chose to use Umbrella Species as indicators of ecosystem health and, consequently, biodiversity. Therefore, the Earth's guardians must prove the existence of an Umbrella Species on their lands through georeferenced data, such as a photograph, video, bioacoustic sound, or eDNA.
With a focus on umbrella species, which are essential for the systemic balance of various other species, we can implement actions capable of contributing to regional conservation as a whole.
For each umbrella species, an "Umbrella Species Guideline" is developed, a specific guideline that considers local threats and opportunities for the conservation of these species. This guide is the heart of our continuous improvement system, focused not only on the health of the habitat and species but also on strengthening the harmonious coexistence between human communities and animals.
In our journey for conservation, ERA embraces a holistic approach, designing our methodology to develop rigorous monitoring data and obtain crucial ecological indicators, ensuring that each biodiversity credit generated represents a real and measurable benefit for biodiversity and ecosystems. The data collected and monitoring over the years of the project not only feed scientific research, improving our understanding of ecosystems but also are crucial to support local communities. They guide sustainable land management practices, benefiting both the environment, the scientific field, community well-being, and broad sustainability.
We are at the forefront of the fight against biodiversity loss, paving the way for a conservation model that is both sustainable and replicable!
Call to Action
Join us on this journey marked by a commitment to conservation that honors the richness and interdependence of life on Earth!
Learn more about our Biodiversity Methodology at: https://registry.regen.network/v/methodology-library/published-methodologies/era-brazil-methodology-for-biodiversity-stewardship-credit
And follow us for more information! We will soon dive deeper into our powerful partnerships and our pilot project being implemented in the Pantanal, the largest continental wetland on the planet!
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