ID: 2040
Presenting Author: Amy Sellers
Session: 603 - Using global biodiversity data to make past assessments and future projections
Status: pending
Exploring how global biodiversity data can guide corporate nature action, highlighting its power for portfolio risk scoping and its pitfalls for more accurate site-level biodiversity accounting.
As corporations adopt frameworks like the TNFD and pursue Nature Positive commitments, the demand for scalable, global biodiversity data is soaring. These datasets are critical for portfolio-level risk assessment. Our presentation will discuss the benefits of global data as a powerful scoping tool, yet its perils as an unreliable biodiversity accounting tool. We will provide examples of data needs across different scales, drawing from our work on: (1) our Geospatial Risk Assessment tool used for prioritizing portfolio-level action; (2) our Portfolio platform to visualize and assess biodiversity across multiple sites; and (3) last years "State of Nature" metrics pilot for a mine in Brazil. These cases will discuss the pros of global datasets for directing action and aggregating findings, while highlighting their significant pitfalls, such as the inaccurate mapping of critically threatened ecosystems and inadequate ecosystem condition accounting when applied at a local project scale. We will also explore how through combining these quantitative outputs with scenario-based interpretation, this data supports not only retrospective and current assessment of biodiversity risk, but also forward-looking projections of where operational or reputational risks may emerge under future land-use or regulatory shifts.'
The Lead Nature Strategist at NatureMetrics, focused on nature-related risk assessment. She has a quantitative background across mathematics and natural sciences and is a Sustainability Risk Prof.
Coauthor 1: Sophia Raithel