Countering rapid loss of biodiversity to protect natural assets

The rapid loss of biodiversity has dire implications for food security, human health, and the economy. Effective responses aimed at rectifying this global crisis lie at the intersection of natural resource and sustainability actions.

The World Wildlife Fund recently reported that 68% of the world’s wildlife population has declined over the last forty years. Driven by human activity (such as natural habitat conversion, the overexploitation of wildlife, the introduction of non-native species, and our changing climate), the loss of wildlife exacerbates the fragile ecosystems that support our socioeconomic structure. As populations grow, and the urban-wildland interface becomes more prevalent, effective sustainable development is critical for protecting biodiversity. Natural resource studies aim to identify the myriad components of ecosystems and understand their individual and cumulative values. In a broader context, these studies establish the basis for larger efforts for enhancement, restoration, and sustainable use of our natural environment. Ensuring that the environments in which we live and work are maintained and enhanced, while also considering the global demands for water, energy and urbanization is integral to long-term sustainable development.

The biosphere is the ecosystem that includes the earth and all the living organisms that inhabit it. Planning that does not consider societal pressure is fundamentally not sustainable. A biosphere-based development approach is predicated on the understanding of the interactions between nature and society as social-ecological systems, which is an integrated and interconnected understanding of the human in nature. The approach recognizes humans, societies, and human constructs as interconnected, as well as interactive and co-dependent. Therefore, a biosphere-based model of sustainable development is a dependency model, where the systems of economy are reliant upon the systems of society, which are reliant upon the natural environment and can be leveraged as a foundation of a sustainable approach to managing our natural assets.

This dependency requires approaches to human development that are within the “safe operating space” of the biosphere for humanity to thrive or even persist. The 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 2030 Agenda are an attempt to integrate sustainable approaches to human development that advance equity and mitigate changes to the biosphere that pose an existential threat to humanity and human civilization, while facilitating development pathways that are both adaptive and transformational. Striking a balance between the demands of society and the natural resources that support our livelihood is key to both sustainability and economic resiliency.

Biodiversity loss is endangering not only the wildlife population of our planet, but the foundational systems we rely on for survival. Further, this loss threatens the security of the world’s food supplies and the livelihoods of millions of people. The demand for food security, as well as climate migration to geographies of perceived stability is creating unprecedented demands on existing infrastructure and resources. Biosphere-based development offers an approach to sustainability for current urban environments and cities of the future to thrive while maintaining biodiversity that is so critical.

GHD supports our clients in their sustainable development of our planet's natural resources. Grant-funded enterprises, like the Salt River Ecosystem Restoration Project (one of the largest wetland and riparian restoration projects to occur on the northern California coast), provide tangible actions to enhance biodiversity, buffer sea level rise, and build community-based coalitions. GHD scientists and specialists also collaborate with authorities and partners to assess and report potential risks and provide recommendations to support the protection and governance of high biodiversity regions such as the Great Barrier Reef. Innovative approaches that leverage new technologies also provides solutions to support sustainable development and protect biodiversity. Using techniques such as environmental DNA (eDNA), GHD applies new approaches to the assessment of biodiversity on a project-scale, while improving the detection of significant or secretive species.

Partnering with private, public, academic, and community stakeholders is critical to GHD’s goals for sustainable development that supports society and natural resources. Through tangible action and innovative solutions toward protecting, enhancing, and conserving biodiversity, GHD aims to affect sustainable change within the communities where we live and work.