Global Challenge

Biodiversity conservation is one of the defining issues of our age, and the government has made clear its ambition for global leadership in this area; for example by initiation of the Leaders' Pledge for Biodiversity, by commitment to deforestation-free supply chains in the Environment Bill, and in its ambitious 25-year Environment Plan.

Biodiversity loss ranked second in the World Economic Forum's 2020 list of global risks (after climate change), and a recent landmark report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) highlighted the urgency of addressing the continuing loss of biodiversity, and the interdependency of healthy ecosystems, poverty alleviation and human wellbeing. In late 2021, the postponed Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will meet to negotiate an ambitious new Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Industry and investors, in the City of London and elsewhere, are moving fast to recognise and account for their environmental impacts. Pandemic disease risk is linked to both the illegal wildlife trade and human encroachment on natural habitats, underlining the importance of focusing on these issues. Recognising this, the UK government is showing global leadership in this area.

The UK's commitment to leadership in biodiversity is evidenced by (among other things): its £11.6bn International Climate Finance portfolio; its initiation of the Leaders' Pledge for Biodiversity (where world leaders pledge their commitment to implementing the GBF); its commitment to deforestation-free supply chains in the Environment Bill; its ambitious 25-year Environment Plan; and its substantial increases in funding for the environment in the UK and overseas (including the UK Overseas Territories). If this ambition is to succeed in producing equitable benefits for biodiversity and people, deploying the expertise of academic institutions is essential.

CASCADE'S policy priorities

Implementation of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework needs to improve substantially on the shortcomings of its predecessor agreements; the agreed targets for 2010 and 2020 were missed, and there is little chance of meeting the 2030 targets under current trajectories. Addressing these challenges will require transformational change. Our consortium will provide the academic foundation for this change.

We have identified three key areas in which our combined expertise can radically change how biodiversity conservation is done:

Rapid and substantial progress in these three areas is key to enabling nations to meet the "triple challenge" of meeting humanity's needs (Sustainable Development Goals), while keeping climate change within manageable limits (UNFCCC Paris agreement), and restoring nature to levels that can sustain humanity (Global Biodiversity Framework), thereby creating human-nature relationships that are sustainable.

I. By engaging with the diverse cultural conceptualisations of and approaches to Nature of Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities and other marginalised groups. This will support their integration into international and national conservation planning, achieving the UN's 2050 vision of Living in Harmony with Nature, and supporting the development of a genuinely inclusive and transformative vision for a sustainable future.

II. By enhancing approaches to monitoring and reporting biodiversity change, at multiple levels (including species, ecosystems, and functions), and of associated changes in human wellbeing, to support evaluation of the effectiveness of conservation interventions at reversing biodiversity loss and creating sustainable and productive land and seascapes.

III. By developing tools and frameworks for prioritisation and decision-making at a range of scales, which support the effective integration of voices from a range of State and non-State-actors into the post-2020 biodiversity processes, including structured decision-making, the mitigation hierarchy and online participatory methods (including gaming and expert elicitation).