Biodiversity Goals 2010+ - Transforming the Global Economy to Save Nature

EU Green WeekBrussels, 1 June 2010

Ashok KhoslaChairman, Development AlternativesPresident, IUCN and Club of Rome

Our One Earth

Climate Change

Extinction of Species

Our One Earth

Earth in Crisis . . .Crises . .

PovertyPopulationPollution ClimateBiodiversitySocietyFinanceEtc, etc

Earth in Crisis . . .Crises . .

PovertyPopulationPollution ClimateBiodiversitySocietyFinanceEtc, etc

Biodiversity trends (IUCN Red List Index)AmphibiansMammalsCorals

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright

Now Battling for Survival!Now Battling for Survival!

Tiger Habitats in India

Population of Tigers in India

Tiger Census by Government of India

1 0

Estimated Price of Tiger Parts

Threats to the Tiger

Poaching, Smuggling, Illicit Trade

Poor enforcement, conviction

Disturbance of habitat – Fewer prey, more crops

Open cast mining and quarrying

Man-animal conflict for habitat

Lack of funds for corridors and infrastructure

Poor recruitment/training of forest guards

King of the Asian Jungle

*The

Tiger’ s

Range

1900 20001950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2025

100,00 0

Tigers in the Wild – Pan Asia

60,000

45,000

30,00025,000

7,0004,000

2010

2,500

India

World

Vultures in South Asia

Vultures 99 % Loss in 10 Years

1995: 40 Million2005: 60,000

Diclofenac

• 2000 - Dead Vultures Notice• 2003 - Research initiated• 2004 - Cause traced to Diclofenac• 2006 - Diclofenac banned• 2008 - Recovery started

• India, Pakistan, Nepal

Policies for Biodiversity

General Policies are of Limited Value:

Need specific Policies to address Specific Threats

Today’s Paradigm: The Global Economy

Source: New Yorker

- stimulate- spend !- buy stuff !!- grow !!!

G20 Leaders Hail Crisis Fightback

Financial Times 2nd April 2009

23

Silver Bullets . . . turn into Rubber

• More Consumption• More Trade

• More Competitiveness• More Efficiency

• More etc

Conservation of Living Resources

The Components of Biodiversity

• Species• Habitats

• Ecosystem Processes

Species

Habitats

Ecosystem Processes

Biogeochemical Cycles

The Future of Biodiversity

Under Rapidly Changing Conditions of

• Great Economic Stress• Great Social Distress

• Great Environmental Threat

31

The problem

$$$Money : today‘s Yardstick

Photo: C.Neßhöver, UFZ

Nature‘sInteractions with Humanity

The Earth

today is in high fever

Threats to Biodiversity

Many types of “Development” Intervention, including . . .

Valued by the Rich – the “Biosphere People”

35Source: Ben ten Brink (MNP) presentation at the Workshop: The Economics of the Global Loss of Biological Diversity 5-6

March 2008, Brussels, Belgium. Original source: Pauly

Open Access & Perverse Subsidies are key drivers of

the loss of fisheries

Half of wild marine fisheries are fully exploited, with a

further quarter already over-exploited

at risk : $ 80-100 billion income from the sector

at risk : est. 27 million jobs

but most important of all…..

at risk : Health … over a billion rely on fish as their main or sole source of animal protein, especially in developing countries.

TEEB : Global Loss of Fisheries…Human Welfare Impact

We are fishing down the food web to ever smaller species…

Variety

Recreation and Sports

“Efficient” Production

“Efficient” Agriculture

“Efficient” fishing

“Efficient”

Urban Systems

and Transport

Efficiency and Mastery of the Universe

Bad Land Use Leading to Erosion and Siltation

Indiscriminate Logging

Removal of Protective Vegetation

Runoff of Pesticides, Fertilizer, Sewage and Wastes

Alien Species

Endangered Species

Affluenza(A

Terminal Condition)

Gets Attention

Ecosystem Services for the Poor –

“Ecosystem People”

The Daily Trek: Billion Women

– No Clean Drinking Water

> 1,300 million people

Denuded Landscapes

Creating Deserts

Sub-Saharan Africa’s wood-energy consumption is the highest in the world

Source: Bailis,Ezzati & Kammen, Science (2005)

Primary production of biomass energy in 2000 (1018

Joules)

SSA 10.2

China 8.9

India 8.4

Latin America 3.2

Source: IEA, 2003

Povertitis(A

Terrible Illness that is

Terminal) often goes

Unnoticed

Biodiversity

Is FundamentallyValuable in

Its Own Right

Sustainable Use ?

In Time, Demands

will exceed Supply

Policies for Biodiversity

Generally Not Yet Strong or Major Priority for Most

Governments

Biodiversity

Is HugelyValuable in

Subsidizing the Economy

Pollination

*

Wild Plants

and

Crops

Australia: Value of Pollination

Amount: US $ 1.3 Billion

Date: 2000Estimated by: Rural Industries Research

and Development Corp, Govt of Australia

35 % of human food comes from plants pollinated by wild pollinators

100,000 species of bats, bees,

beetles, birds, and

butterflies – plus flies and

moths -- provide free pollination services

USA: Value of Pollination

Amount: US $ 5.7 to 8.3 Billion

Value of Crops: US $ 24 Billion

Ref: Ecological Society of America

Biological Pest Control

Replacement of Chemical Pesticides Saves Money –

and Lives

2000 Estimate of Replacement Value:

US $ 54 Billion per year.

(Not Including Health Costs Saved)

Pharmaceuticals

TraditionalMedicines

Pharmacy

40 % of Pharmaceuticals derived from Natural Products.

Including 9 out of Top 10

2003 Sales of Pharmaceuticals:

US $ 480 Billion

Seed Dispersal

Nature’s Chemical Factories

Nature’s Food and Water Factories

Salicornia

Natural Reservoirs

Glaciers for Year Round River Flows

Wetlands – Balancing Water Cycles

Welwitschia Mirabilis

Science

Aesthetic Beauty and Inspiration

And Many, Many Others

Including:Mitigation of Floods and DroughtStorm ProtectionRegulation of ClimateNurturing BiodiversityRefuge for Migratory SpeciesEtc, etc

Strong Policies for Biodiversity

Depend on High Level Recognition that BD is

Also a Key to Sustainable Development

The Art of Setting Goals and Targets

• Ambitious Enough?• Realistic Enough?

Example: Protected Areas

• Terrestrial: from today’s 12.5% to 15% by 2015• Marine: from today’s 1% to 15 % by 2020

With more detail, eg:• Target 17. At least 50% of the planet protected

through networks of effectively managed protected area systems and/or other means, and integrated into the wider land- and seascape

Not Like the MDGs !

MDG #7, Target #11 states:

“By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers”.

And How Many Slums?

According to the Executive Director of UN Habitat, if we continue with BAU:

• 1 Billion in Slums in 2003• 2 Billion in Slums in 2030• 3 Billion in Slums in 2050

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Popu

latio

n in

Slu

ms

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Slum Dwellers and MDG 7 [from UN Habitat Data]

Slum Population "Improved Lives"

Policy Interventions Needed• National Economy

Incentives for DematerialisationGreen Accounts (include Nature’s Subsidy)Balance Sheet (separate Assets & Income)

• Institutions of GovernanceLocal, Decentralised Decision-MakingCommunity Ownership of ResourcesStrong Regional Participative Planning

Research Needed

• Research How Much are Eco Services Worth?Who Benefits and Who Pays for them?What Means can Generate Eco-Efficiency?

• DevelopmentSustainable TechnologiesZero Emission Initiatives

And Action!

The Five Kingdoms of Nature

*• Animals

• Plants

• Fungi

• Algae

• Bacteria

The Savannah in Vichada

Water is abundant 3 months per year but the pH low

populationsuffers from gastro-intestinal diseasesand soilconsideredBAD

population only 1 per 4 km2

no industryno agriculture

Savannah Tropical Forest

Biodiversity

SustainableCommunities

Drinking Water

Carbon Sink

Biodiesel

inspired by Janine Benyus author Biomimicry

Eastgate in Harare, Zimbabwe

how can we have cool air without aircon?

Producing drinking watercondensation/evaporation or reverse osmosis

ZERI Foundation at GLOBE Tokyo 29th of June 2008

how can we have waterwithout any pumps?

Welwitschia mirabilis in the Namib Desert

waterwithout any pumps

drinking water inspired by Namibian bug

end of reverse osmosis for drinking waterin the Middle East

ZERI Foundation at GLOBE Tokyo 29th of June 2008