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Measuring net-positive outcomes for nature using accounting

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 4, pages 284–285 (2020)Cite this article

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To the Editor — In their recent commentary on international policy on nature conservation, Bull et al.1 make a timely argument that if biodiversity is to be conserved (a proposition for which there is overwhelming support), policy must shift from a focus on avoiding losses towards one that focuses on net outcomes, or more specifically on targeting net-positive outcomes. Under such an approach, losses and gains would be quantified in ‘an integrated framework that permits transparency as to whether biodiversity goals are being achieved’. We argue that such an integrated framework already exists in the form of the United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA)2. The challenge is to incorporate biodiversity accounting in international policy, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and make it operational.

In comparing their proposal to current international policy, found in the CBD’s Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets (the Aichi Plan)3, Bull et al. do in fact foreshadow the modification of Aichi Target 2, which calls on countries to incorporate biodiversity values into national accounting by 2020, by incorporating the conservation hierarchy. However, they do not develop this concept further, but rather make a more general argument for a ‘plurality of metrics’.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ANU College of Law, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    Peter Burnett

  2. Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    Michael Vardon, Heather Keith & David Lindenmayer

  3. Griffith Climate Change Response Program, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Heather Keith

  4. UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK

    Steven King

Authors
  1. Peter Burnett
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  2. Michael Vardon
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  3. Heather Keith
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  4. Steven King
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  5. David Lindenmayer
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Contributions

P.B. and M.V. conceived and wrote the manuscript, with support from H.K., S.K. and D.L., who also provided substantive insights and gave comment and review.

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Correspondence to Peter Burnett.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Burnett, P., Vardon, M., Keith, H. et al. Measuring net-positive outcomes for nature using accounting. Nat Ecol Evol 4, 284–285 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1108-7

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