ID: 1997
Presenting Author: Amalia Fernandez Bilbao
Session: 604 - Everything Everywhere All at Once: Harnessing Holistic Impact Assessment
Status: pending
Holistic IA could help mainstream nature-positive actions into development by identifying opportunities to enhance and restore biodiversity thus tackling key societal challenges.
Nature-positive finance, as outlined in the MDB Common Principles for Tracking Nature Finance, promotes actions that protect, restore, and sustainably manage nature. These efforts align with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its goal to halt and reverse nature loss. Beyond environmental benefits, nature-positive actions deliver significant socio-economic co-benefits, such as greener infrastructure, urban regeneration, pollution reduction, and climate resilience. The MDB Principles emphasize that nature’s resources and services are critical to addressing challenges related to health, livelihoods, climate change resilience, and food and energy security.
Impact assessment (IA) could be an instrument to embed nature-positive actions in projects. In practice, however, nature-related mitigation in IA is typically focused on addressing biodiversity impacts, while overlooking opportunities for restoring or enhancing biodiversity. Many projects could embed nature-positive mitigation that helps halt biodiversity loss and yields significant social and climate benefits. Too often, these benefits go unrecognized because such measures are framed as biodiversity mitigation. This paper explores how a holistic IA approach could embed nature-positive actions throughout the project lifecycle. Focusing on opportunities to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services, not only avoids harm but contributes to addressing pressing societal challenges. This approach offers opportunities for more inclusive decision-making and consultation to maximize co-benefits.
Biodiversity specialist working on nature-finance tracking and Performance Standard 6 implementation at IFC and MIGA. Over 20 years' international experience in development, environment, and IA.