Quantifying is caring: measuring biodiversity to better protect it

?? One million: that’s how many species now face extinction, an unprecedented figure in history. Since 1970, mammal, bird, fish, reptile, and amphibian populations have declined by a whopping 69%, says the World Wildlife Fund . While these broad figures highlight the breadth of the crisis, saving species requires much more precise scientific assessments. How can we measure biodiversity and its evolution over time and space?

• Biodiversity loss poses a huge threat to humans, affecting both our health and safety. More than a third of the global food production relies on pollinators, and over half of the world’s GDP depends on nature and ecosystem services, making biodiversity collapse a disaster for governments, companies, and citizens alike. To reverse this trajectory would require spending $500 billion a year until 2030, far from the less than $150 billion currently allocated to nature conservation and the $300 billion spent on environmentally damaging subsidies. The bottom line: economic players must urgently redirect financial flows to prioritise nature.
• But investing in and protecting nature requires accurately assessing biodiversity loss and identifying the species concerned, ideally using a universal framework. Yet quantifying human impact on biodiversity is no small feat, as numerous factors are involved, to say nothing of the complexity of nature itself.
• Several approaches have emerged that aim to do just this, each with its pros and cons. A recent paper by BNP Paribas researchers Imène Ben Rejeb-Mzah , Nathalie Jaubert , Hatim Mrabet , and Alexandre Vincent , which we’ve made open-source for researchers and experts to use and build upon, examines the three metrics most used by financial institutions. Far from an academic debate, selecting the right index is crucial for the financial sector to accurately measure their investments’ biodiversity footprint.
• The first metric, the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII), measures an ecosystem’s health by assessing the proportion of species preserved from the pristine state, i.e., the extent to which an ecosystem retains its original biodiversity in the face of human activity. The “Mean Species Abundance” (MSA) focuses on the intactness of local biodiversity, counting the number of individuals of a given species in a given site and comparing it to a pristine baseline. Finally, the?“Potentially Disappeared Fraction” (PDF) calculates the fraction of local species that have disappeared due to external pressures, often relying on lifecycle assessment methods to do so. Is one of these metrics superior? Turns out, there is no simple answer.
• While the MSA and PDF are simple, easily understandable, and universally applicable, they suffer from major flaws: to begin with, measuring them accurately requires samples of quality, but most of all, neither of them account for invasive species introduced by accident or human intervention in their definition. The MSA, for instance, will give a perfect score to a site where original biodiversity has remained constant through time, even if opportunistic species have appeared. Yet invasive species can severely damage ecosystems, causing starvation and extinction of native fauna and flora; in fact, they “are an even bigger threat to biodiversity than climate change”, writes the UK Natural History Museum .
• Unlike the MSA and PDF, the BII does account for invasive species, thus offering a more accurate assessment of an ecosystem’s state in that regard. However, just like MSA and PDF, it assigns equal weights to all species, regardless of whether they are abundant or rare. The BII also faces a significant data challenge: it requires abundance data for all species globally, an impossible task. To overcome this limitation, the BII relies heavily on modelling. The MSA, too, suffers from this problem: it needs data on each species in the world in both its current and past state – an equally impossible task.

• All in all, no single index can fully assess ecosystem health. So, where do we go from here? Because each method has distinct strengths and weaknesses, researchers should adopt a nuanced approach, selecting the method that best fits their goals and available data. Often, combining methods will provide a more comprehensive evaluation. Want to learn more? Our paper is available here.
• Just as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework now provides an efficient way of measuring companies’ impact on nature and ecosystems, a harmonized approach is needed to precisely evaluate the state and evolution of biodiversity. Only by gaining a precise understanding of our impact on species globally can governments, companies, and individuals act effectively to preserve them and identify and reverse harmful actions. This precision is also crucial for financial institutions like ours to optimise their efforts to protect biodiversity, ensuring the preservation of the most valuable life insurance for our species: the existence of all others.

?? BNP Paribas was recently crowned world’s best bank for financial inclusion by Euromoney . A testament to our commitment to supporting our most vulnerable clients.

• ?With 1.4 billion adults worldwide excluded from banking services, financial inclusion is a top priority. That is why, in 2023, BNP Paribas supported 21 microfinance institutions all around the world with €345 million in loans and investments, to the benefit of 260,000 indirect beneficiaries, as Microfinance Social Performance Report highlights. But our commitment to inclusion spans many other initiatives.
• In France, our Centres Specialised in Budget Solutions (CSSB) are home to 130 online advisors, offering detailed assessments of recurring income and expenses and long-term regularisation solutions to our vulnerable customers. Thanks to this unique initiative, nearly 75% of customers return to credit at their original branch within eight weeks of arriving at the CSSB.
• In France as well, our Axelle platform, launched in 2020, offers financially fragile individuals advice, assistance, and practical tips to make their daily lives easier and manage their budgets excessively, in nine different areas of everyday life.
• Last but not least, with Nickel , our innovative banking model, accessible to all, anyone can open an account in five minutes at our partner locations, without income requirements –?a?way to ensure all broad access to financial services, regardless of what hand life has dealt. This service has been embraced by over 3.7 million customers across five European countries.

In Italy, Alperia Group is pioneering clean energy production from renewable sources.

• Alperia has harnessed hydraulic power for 120 whole years, starting with the construction of South Tyrol’s first hydroelectric power station. Today, it operates 35 such installations and manages a 9,000-km electricity network. In 2023, Alperia produced 4.6 TwH of energy, 93% from renewable sources. And the company is not stopping there.
• With a view to provide 100% sustainable energy services in the near future, Alperia is developing a range of solutions, from renewable energy distribution to district heating, green gases, and AI-based energy efficiency.
• BNL BNP Paribas has supported Alperia’s growth from the start, helping the company launch its first sustainability plan and issuing its first Green Bond in 2016. Hit play to learn more about this long-term partnership’s past… and future!

?? If you read our cover, you know informed investment decisions require precise data. Especially when it comes to protecting the source of all life.

• Covering 71% of the Earth and home to close to 2 million species, the ocean, our largest ecosystem, is severely threatened by human activities.
• In 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Agreement set goals to protect 30% of the planet’s marine and coastal areas by 2030, highlighting investors’ role in halting and reversing biodiversity loss.
• In Target 15 of the agreement, governments commit to require large, transnational companies and financial institutions to assess and disclose their dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities on nature. But to make informed decisions and invest in companies and activities that are working to protect ocean biodiversity, investors need credible data, consistent with international standards.
• That is why BNP Paribas Asset Management and other investors have issued a joint statement to call on ESG data providers to improve the data offering on ocean-related risk and opportunities. In the words of Robert-Alexandre Poujade , Biodiversity Lead at BNP Paribas: “Investors need to see below the surface to be able to properly manage the ocean-related risks and opportunities in our portfolios!”

??? Celebrating two years of BNP Paribas’s ESG podcast in the Netherlands with a brand-new episode!

• In July 2022, Marloes Bergevoet ( BNP Paribas CIB ) and Aldert Veldhuisen (BNP Paribas Asset Management) joined forces to create a podcast. The pitch? To provide hard proof that when it comes to ESG, we don’t just talk the talk, we also walk the walk! How? By offering a platform for accelerators of the sustainable transition.
• Every two weeks, experts explore the latest developments, obstacles, and opportunities in ESG, from green energy to biodiversity, health, inclusivity, or regulation. Two years and 54 episodes later, ESG: Even Samen Gevat is nearing 200,000 downloads!
• In the August episode, Koen De Leus , chief economist of BNP Paribas Fortis , discusses the five trends shaping the future, starting with climate change. Tune in and dive deep!
• Listen also to an episode in english, starring Martina Huber, researcher at Wageningen University & Research just there!