Posts in Campaign for Nature
New report shows payoffs of environmental protection

Asia Times

July 10, 2020
In the most comprehensive report to date on the economic implications of protecting nature, more than 100 economists and scientists find that the global economy would benefit from the establishment of far more protected areas on land and at sea than exist today.

The report considers various scenarios of protecting at least 30% of the planet to show that the benefits outweigh the costs by a ratio of at least 5-to-1. It offers new evidence that the nature conservation sector drives economic growth, delivers key non-monetary benefits, and is a net contributor to a resilient global economy.

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Updated Species Extinction List Signals 'Urgent Action Needed to Save Life on Earth'

Common Dreams

July 9, 2020
The U.S.-based Center for Biological Diversity warned Thursday of the "urgent action needed to save life on Earth" in response to a new global assessment revealing that nearly 27% of over 120,000 analyzed plant and animal species are now threatened with extinction.

"This assessment shows that one in four mammals are facing extinction, and although we don't prefer to think of ourselves as animals, we humans are mammals," Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at CBD, said in a statement. "We have to take bold and rapid action to reduce the huge damage we're doing to the planet if we're going to save whales, frogs, lemurs, and ultimately ourselves."

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"Protect 30% of the planet for nature," scientists urge in new report

Phys.org

July 8, 2020
In the most comprehensive report to date on the economic implications of protecting nature, over 100 economists and scientists find that the global economy would benefit from the establishment of far more protected areas on land and at sea than exist today. The report considers various scenarios of protecting at least 30% of the world's land and ocean to find that the benefits outweigh the costs by a ratio of at least 5-to-1. The report offers new evidence that the nature conservation sector drives economic growth, delivers key non-monetary benefits and is a net contributor to a resilient global economy.

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Study shows that protecting 30% of land and ocean would generate benefits in the economy

Latercera

July 9, 2020
A recent report ensures that the conservation, restoration and creation of protected areas that cover around 30% of biodiversity and nature - terrestrial and marine - would generate enormous economic and financial benefits on a global scale and, furthermore, avoid the alarming collapse of the natural world that now threatens the extinction of up to a million species. Although for this, it is necessary, it is necessary to increase the investment to approximately 140 billion dollars on average in the next ten years, versus the 24 billion dollars today.

The study called Protection of 30% of the planet for nature: costs, benefits and economic implications " , was prepared with the work of more than 100 scientists and economists who are part of the Campaign for Nature and Peoples (promoted by National Geographic and the Wyss Foundation). This is the most comprehensive global assessment of the financial and economic impacts of protected areas to date, and considers sectors such as agriculture, fisheries and forestry.

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What would it cost to fix our broken relationship with nature?

WEF Blog

July 8, 2020
[…] A comprehensive report, Protecting 30% of the planet for nature: costs, benefits and economic implications, has arrived just in time. It concludes that the benefits of protecting 30% of the world’s land and ocean outweigh the costs by a factor of at least 5:1. This economic assessment follows the urgent call from scientists to protect at least 30% of the earth’s land and sea by 2030 to halt the collapse of biodiversity.

The IMF estimates that $10 trillion has been spent so far on official COVID-19 support measures worldwide, and forecasts global GDP will contract by an unprecedented 4.9% in 2020. Protecting 30% of the world’s land and ocean would require just 0.016% of global GDP. This seems like a very low insurance premium and incredibly safe bet on a system that has proven its sound productivity for over 3 billion years.

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Investing in conservation generates huge returns for economy, study finds

CBC

July 8, 2020
With Earth's wildlife now facing an extinction crisis, a group of economists and scientists is hoping to persuade governments that it pays to protect nature.

Specifically, expanding areas under conservation could yield a return of at least $5 for every $1 spent just by giving nature more room to thrive.

That in turn would boost agricultural and forestry yields, improve freshwater supplies, preserve wildlife and help fight climate change — all of which would boost global economic output on average by about $337 billion ($250 billion US) annually, the group of more than 100 researchers argues in a paper published online Wednesday by The Campaign for Nature, a coalition of conservation organizations from around the world.

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Protecting 30% of planet could bolster economy, study says

The Guardian

July 8, 2020
Nearly a third of the world’s oceans and land area could be placed under environmental protections without harming the global economy, and even produce bumper economic benefits if the right policies were followed, according to a global assessment.

Ecosystems around the world are collapsing or hovering on the brink of disaster, with a million species threatened with extinction. But if at least 30% of the planet’s land and oceans were subject to conservation efforts, that mass extinction could be avoided and vital habitats restored, scientists estimate.

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Does it pay to protect nature? A new study weighs in

Reuters

July 8, 2020
With Earth’s wildlife now facing an extinction crisis, a group of economists and scientists is hoping to persuade governments that it pays to protect nature.

Specifically, expanding areas under conservation could yield a return of at least $5 for every $1 spent just by giving nature more room to thrive.

That in turn would boost agricultural and forestry yields, improve freshwater supplies, preserve wildlife and help fight climate change – all of which would boost global economic output on average by about $250 billion (199.38 billion pounds) annually, the group of more than 100 researchers argues in a paper published Wednesday.

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All Countries Called To Protect At Least 30% Land And Ocean

Media Indionesia

June 24, 2020
The group consisting of former heads of state, foreign ministers, and diplomats from four continents launched the Campaign for Nature on July 17, 2020.

Indonesia was represented by former Environment Minister Emil Salim who was a member of the Global Steering Committee . The committee was led by former US Senator and former Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa Russ Feingold.

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Join together for new natural goal: leaders

Indian Flash

June 20, 2020
From former Heads of State to former Foreign Ministers, everyone has joined together against the destruction of the natural world, noting that it has a bearing upon the health, economies and well being of mankind. The world lenders have come together under Campaign for Nature’s Global Steering Committee with an aim of reaching out to the world leaders to support a new global goal to protect at least 30 percent of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030.

Noting that land and marine conservation is timelier than ever, they said that Covid 19 pandemic has further underscored the need to protect more of the natural world. Several studies have shown that destruction of nature increased the risk of infectious disease, they added.

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To Recover from the Global Recession, We must Invest in Nature

Campaign For Nature

June 17, 2020
Launched today, the principal aim of the Campaign for Nature’s Global Steering Committee-- composed of former heads of state, foreign ministers and diplomats from four continents--is to call on governments worldwide to support a new global goal to protect at least 30 percent of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030, shown by scientists to be the minimum amount needed to halt global biodiversity loss. The Committee is led by former US Senator and former Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region of Africa Russ Feingold. 

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World Environment Day Statement on COVID-19

HAC

June 5, 2020
We are joining forces to call on all governments around the world to retain our precious intact ecosystems and wilderness, to preserve and effectively manage at least 30% of our planet’s lands and oceans by 2030, and to restore and conserve biodiversity, as a crucial step to help prevent future pandemics and public health emergencies, and lay the foundations for a sustainable global economy through job creation and human well-being. 

 The rapid and devastating spread of COVID-19 is a tragedy with monumental impacts on people, economies and societies that will endure for years to come. This pandemic provides unprecedented and powerful proof that nature and people share the same fate and are far more closely linked that most of us realized. 

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Will Pandemic Push Humans Into Healthier Relationship With Nature?

Thomson Reuters Foundation

May 21, 2020
[…] Now, lockdowns and other measures worldwide to contain the virus are hampering efforts to conserve traditional food crops like those Wanjama wants to save, as well as forests, wetlands and their native species, scientists and environmentalists say.

Green groups and international organisations had billed 2020 as a "super year" for the biodiversity of the planet's plants and animals, as new global agreements were due to be sealed.

But key U.N. negotiations have been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic which many environmentalists blame, at least partly, on a failure to protect nature that has facilitated the transition of viruses from animals to humans.

Meanwhile, a relaxation of surveillance and monitoring in many countries has led to more poaching and illegal, unregulated fishing, said ecologist Sandra Diaz.

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The EU is going to plant 3 billion trees by 2030

Fast Company

May 20, 2020

Over the next decade, the European Union plans to plant 3 billion trees. It’s one piece of a larger commitment to protect nature on the continent at a time when a million species, globally, are now at risk of extinction, and biodiversity loss also threatens future pandemics. In a new strategy document, the European Commission says it now aims to protect 30% of the region’s land and oceans, based on science that suggests that amount is necessary to preserve biodiversity.

“This is the first truly serious biodiversity strategy at a large scale that we’ve seen,” says Brian O’Donnell, director of the nonprofit Campaign for Nature. “It’s a continent-wide strategy. It’s an all-of-government strategy. It addresses both conserving and protecting the best of nature that remains and restoring new areas. . . . The tree-planting component of it I think is something that will get a number of people’s attention. But it’s only one part of what I think is a comprehensive biodiversity strategy both for Europe.”

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Locking down nature in order to liberate it

ABC

May 17, 2020
There’s a serious campaign underway to have 30 per cent of the Earth designated as a giant conservation area. The target date is 2030.

But that’s just the start. The scientists and environmentalists involved in the plan want to eventually lock down half the planet. It’s about protecting habitats and biodiversity.

Cost and logistics are primary considerations. But they aren’t the only ones. Other issues at stake include increasing poverty and indigenous rights.

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