Story by cboudreau@insider.com (Catherine Boudreau) •
Insider's Catherine Boudreau led a panel with Susan Chomba, director of vital landscapes at the World Resources Institute, and Michal Nachmany, founder and CEO of Climate Policy Radar. Courtesy of Insider Studios© Courtesy of Insider Studios
Biodiversity loss doesn't always get as much attention as the climate but the crises are linked.
The solutions to these problems are often the same as well, experts said during an Insider panel.
The comments came as part of the event "For a Better Future: Bridging Culture, Business, and Climate."
When Susan Chomba thinks about biodiversity loss in Africa, her mind goes to a white rhino she once visited with her children in Northern Kenya.
The animal, named Sudan, was the last male northern white rhino. He died in 2018.
Chomba, who is the director of vital landscapes at the World Resources Institute, told Insider that Sudan's disappearance — and the grim implications for the northern white rhino subspecies — was a tangible example of what's at risk from biodiversity loss.
Her comments came during a recent Insider event called "For a Better Future: Bridging Culture, Business, and Climate."
Chomba, who joined the panel from Kenya's capital, Nairobi, said researchers have tried to save the northern white rhino by storing semen from the males. The hope, at one time, was to create embryos using eggs from females. "Scientists have tried all they can," she said.
The loss of biodiversity doesn't always get as much attention as the climate crisis but the two challenges are linked. And both need to be solved to prevent devastating consequences for humanity, according to the panelists. In many cases, the path to solving one can help the other, they said.
Panelist Michal Nachmany, who's based in London and is founder and CEO of Climate Policy Radar, said biodiversity loss is something we can all see when we stop to look. She pointed to how different it is to cycle or drive through the countryside in Europe — or to go for a picnic — because there are far fewer insects than there were just a decade or two ago.
"Those insects — half of them are gone," Nachmany said. "And although it might be nice not to be bitten by mosquitoes, those insects represent our food systems. They provide critical pollination services that have a critical impact on our ability to grow food."
A ranger takes care of Sudan, who was the world's last male northern white rhino, at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia county in Kenya in 2017.
Associated Press© Associated Press
The complexity of natural systems means there are linkages — even ones we don't necessarily understand — that tie animals, insects, and humans to the fate of the planet's temperatures
The complexity of natural systems means there are linkages — even ones we don't necessarily understand — that tie animals, insects, and humans to the fate of the planet's temperatures
Related video: What is geoengineering, and why is it sparking climate change debate? (Scripps News)Duration 5:38 View on Watch
"Anybody who's working with these issues — biodiversity, climate change, and the underlying drivers of it — realize the interconnectedness of it," Chomba said.
Nachmany said thinking of biodiversity loss and the climate crisis at the same time can lead to better understanding of what humans need to do to slow changes that could jeopardize human needs.
"The solutions that address both climate change and biodiversity conservation are the same solutions," she said.
"You grow a tree, it gives you food. It reduces the ambient air temperature. It gives space to pollinators that then can support food systems. It provides shade that allows people to enjoy community. A lot of those needs — we tend to think about them as secondary needs — but our wellbeing and our happiness contribute to our resilience in front of rising challenges," Nachmany said.
Education Images/Universal Images Group
There are signs that biodiversity is drawing more attention. Nearly 200 countries reached a landmark agreement in December to protect 30% of the world's lands and oceans by the end of the decade to slow an unprecedented loss of nature.
Still, more needs to be done, the panelists agreed. There should be a steeper price put on activities that harm biodiversity and the environment in general, Nachmany said. That would help incentivize better behavior.
"Financial instruments are also a mechanism to ensure that polluting activities and damaging and destructive activities are capped and banned," she said. "The question is, can we put a price on destroying nature?"
Efforts to protect forests, for example, are often competing against companies that want to develop the land for fossil-fuel extraction, Chomba said. That is the case in the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to the largest area of rainforest in the Congo Basin, where the government last year stirred international concerns over its decision to auction off oil and gas leases.
This was despite a pledge in 2021 at the UN climate summit to support the protection of the Congo Basin, a move that was endorsed by the European Union, the US, the UK, South Korea, and Japan and included an initial $500 million investment.
"If we really care about biodiversity, if we really care about carbon that is in the peatlands, if we really care about the Indigenous people, why are we not putting our money where our mouths are?" Chomba asked.
Nachmany said some parts of the financial world are recognizing that biodiversity loss and the climate crisis are two parts of the same problem. She pointed to investor coalitions that have formed around these types of issues — climate and biodiversity — because they see that protecting nature is in their own interest.
"Without a livable planet, no investment is safe," Nachmany said.
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