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The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has published
a review of the biodiversity requirements of 36 environmental
standards.
The standards cover 8 business sectors - agriculture, biotrade,
carbon offset, finance, fisheries, forestry, mining and tourism.
The review looked at the way standards treat the components
of biodiversity, threats to biodiversity (including appropriate
responses) and references to multilateral environmental agreements.
The review - published mid-December 2011 as a first draft
- finds that many standards include the obvious references
to biodiversity - species (94% of the standards), habitats
(94%) and protected areas (86%). However, biodiversity aspects
that are less obvious are covered by a much smaller number
of standards. Less than half of the standards include a reference
to priority conservation areas. If so, it is mainly the High
Conservation Value Approach that is used.
Many standards recognise that impacts in nature are necessary
- but on how to minimise the damage to biodiversity, they
are less clear. Only a few standards refer to the mitigation
hierarchy or require its use. The standards for the finance
sector most often mention it, although frequently incomplete
and without guidance. The few standards in the agricultural
sector that refer to the mitigation hierarchy mainly deal
with compensation.
Similarly, 'no-net-loss' and 'net-positive-impact'
concepts are rare in most standards. A reference to positive
impacts on biodiversity is included in the majority of the
reviewed standards, but only 17% of the standards mention
explicitly that 'no net loss' of biodiversity is required.
To improve the standards, the CBD makes seven recommendations
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- Adopt internationally recognised definitions for species
and habitats
- Avoid the displacement of threats by not only referring
to forests
- Include modified habitats
- Provide guidance on operation inside protected areas
- Recognise Indigenous Areas and Community Conserved Areas
- Safeguard priority conservation areas outside protected
areas
- Adopt the mitigation hierarchy and 'no net loss'
approaches.
Download the Review - Click
Here [1.69MB]
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