Nature Positive by 2030

I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, traditional custodians of the land on which we now stand, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.

Australia is experiencing some of the most significant climate impacts in the world, giving us a strong incentive to be a world leader in climate response. My hope is that together, as politicians, business and civil society we can finally recognise that uncomfortable fact, and ramp-up our response accordingly. Not just in Australia, but globally.

Daily we see media reports about the consequences of global warming, of floods, fires and an alarming loss of biodiversity. So, it is not surprising that some part of us might want to hide away, or focus on something a little less daunting, but we do have to act.

As an engineer, my instinct is always to try and find solutions. And the more you try to understand, the more you see that there are numerous ways in which we can build a sustainable future.

I am inclined to believe that there are solutions where all species thrive, and where humans and natural systems can co-exist and co-evolve in harmony, within the planet’s capacity to continuously regenerate the resources that we all need.

A key element is the opportunity for a regenerative design approach, starting with an ambition to become nature positive in everything we do. This is not ‘urban regeneration’, which refers to developing buildings and spaces within a run-down inner-city environment.

Regenerative design seeks to create and enhance systems that are resilient, dynamic, adaptable, and restorative; providing enrichment and opportunity for nature and all species to thrive within the regenerative capacity of the planet.

Working towards a regenerative future requires a recognition that our planet is inextricably linked via complex interlocking systems, developed to work symbiotically over millennia as life on Earth evolved. Today, we are consuming resources faster than they can be regenerated, and are diminishing biodiversity. We are polluting the atmosphere, the waterways and the oceans. As a result, our natural environment is in crisis – the ecosystems that underpin our economy, wellbeing and survival are on the verge of collapse.

Alongside our focus on decarbonisation, and working towards regenerative design, we can start by taking steps towards becoming Nature Positive. We have to restore and rebuild biodiverse habitats if we want to thrive as a species ourselves. The UN has already released a global framework that sets out the arguments and the approaches needed to preserve and protect nature through 2030.

All of the actions we take to restore nature will also reduce carbon.

We are seeing a shift in investors and big businesses, that are explicitly recognising the link between capitals, both natural and financial.?

The? IPCC ?2022 Report states that nature loss puts an estimated US$44 trillion of economic value at risk. As a firm, we have been helping create nature-based solutions that are nature positive. At every scale, from materials and objects, to buildings, neighbourhoods and entire cities, we have been thinking about design in a way that creates a net positive impact on human society and the natural systems that we interact with.

Wetlands are an ecological marvel. They improve water quality, protect against floods and act as habitats for a rich range of species. Yet in the past 50 years, unsustainable development and increasing pollution levels have destroyed more than a third of the world’s wetlands.?

Attempts are being made to restore these valuable environments using floating planters to help clean water. But the usual way of producing them incorporates plastic or other artificial materials that create contamination issues when it inevitably degrades. Our Melbourne team collaborated with 澳大利亚斯威本科技大学 and studio edwards to explore the concept of floating mycelium planters. The new system uses floating planters made of mycelium fungi moulded with organic matter that can be planted with wetland species to become habitats. This nature-based solution helps restore the wetland, creating more oxygen, less carbon, and more biodiversity, which together contribute to a healthier ecosystem.

Over the past decades, Shanghai has seen rapid urbanisation and population growth. The massive scale of urban development has increased the impermeable area of the water catchment while reducing green space leading to increased stormwater runoff and associated flood risk across the city.

We partnered with Shanghai Urban Construction Design & Research Institute to tailor a nature-based stormwater plan, covering an area of 640km2 with a population of 15 million people. We challenged the traditional approach of focusing solely on constructed drainage, and instead we proposed a visionary ‘green, blue and grey’ approach to support an integrated water cycle within the city, improving ecology, economy and public health.

?Our proposed strategy aligns with the Chinese government’s desire to create ‘sponge cities’ that are naturally porous, and borrows from work in other cities looking at climate change adaptation, water sensitive urban design, integrated flood control planning, and decentralised infrastructure as key components of future water strategies. Our integrated nature-based approach introduced green space, waterways and other open spaces, to help the city to, not only improve its stormwater network, but also absorb carbon, build climate change resilience, increase biodiversity, and provide better wellbeing for its people – all at less cost than conventional grey infrastructure.

In southwest Victoria, Australia, we have been working to help the Gunditjmara people develop a community and tourism masterplan for the Budj Bim cultural Landscape. For over 30,000 years Gunditjmara people have shaped this volcanic landscape into a complex and productive aquaculture system used to trap, store and harvest eels in a completely sustainable manner. In 2019, it was the first Australian site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list for its outstanding indigenous cultural heritage values.?The goal of the masterplan is to create jobs for local people, help to share cultures, and support the healing and truth-telling that will safeguard knowledge and traditions for future generations.

Being nature positive, using nature based solutions and restoring natural habitats is a win – win:

• It absorbs carbon and other pollutants
• It increases resilience against climate change
• It creates renewable food and materials
• It improves our wellbeing
• It improves the economy

We are not alone in thinking about nature positive solutions. Momentum is building. Initiatives like the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework are driving Nature Positive action. We should hear more about this at COP15 in Montreal in December. Biodiversity credit and certificate schemes are aiming to move beyond offsetting carbon impacts, and instead creating a market for regeneration of biodiversity.

We must all work together to create a planet that will work for future generations.