Nature Positive – What Does It Mean And Why Is It Important?
Updated: Feb 22, 2024
Written by: Paul Jepson, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Nature positive could become one of the most influential terms of our times. Nature positive is something of a buzzword that's been gaining a lot of attention lately. It's being talked about by policymakers, business leaders and activists who are working up ways to address the climate and nature emergencies we're facing. But what does it really mean and why is it so important?
At the 2021 G7 summit in Cornwall, leaders of the world's major economies agreed to a "G7 nature contract" and issued a statement that "our world must become both climate neutral and nature positive." This statement shows that there's high-level political support for a more holistic approach to climate and nature policy. It also means that there's a shift from just protecting nature to actively recovering it.
Over the past 20 years, research and real-world examples have shown that restoring damaged ecosystems can make us more resilient to the effects of climate change and provide solutions to other problems like rural depopulation and mental health issues. In response, the United Nations has declared the 2020-2030 decade as the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. The European Union has set targets for ecosystem restoration and is planning a new nature restoration law. The UK government has also committed to becoming the "first generation in human history to leave nature in a better place than we found it" in their 25-year environment plan.
The term "nature positive" is an aspirational, optimistic, and clear way to summarize these developments and where we need to go. The Paris Agreement on climate change has become a rallying point for efforts to curb global warming. The Global Biodiversity Framework, which was agreed upon at the United Nations COP15 biodiversity conference, could do the same for nature. This visionary document sets targets for restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems and conserving 30% of the world's land, inland waters, coastal areas, and oceans.
The business and finance community has been working on becoming "net zero" by reducing carbon emissions and offsetting the unavoidable ones. Now, they need to figure out what "nature positive" means for business, how to integrate it into their strategies, and how to measure and invest in it. There have been studies and pioneer companies that are already implementing nature positive approaches. But there's still a lot of work to be done to define and implement nature-positive practices.
It's important to note that "nature positive" is not just about protecting nature: it is about restoring it and making it a force and an ally in navigating climate change. It's a fundamental shift in outlook that has the potential to "unlock" private investment in nature recovery. It could become one of the most influential terms of our times, just like "climate neutral".
Paul Jepson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr. Paul Jepson is an internationally recognised thought leader in nature conservation. His mission is to mobilise technology and entrepreneurship to make nature recovery investable and build confidence in humanity’s capacity to navigate the linked climate and nature emergencies. He is a pragmatic conservationist with a scholarly ‘edge’ and a passion for innovation. His work is informed by a 40-year career in international conservation. He directed environmental master’s courses at Oxford University before taking up the role of Head of Innovation at Ecosulis Ltd. He is an accomplished speaker and his recent book ‘Rewilding: the radical new science of ecological recovery’ is receiving widespread praise.
