??Resilience Finance: Urban Biodiversity and NetZero Insetting ??

In the race to address climate change, much of the focus has been on energy and water efficiency indicators. While these are essential for reducing carbon footprints and managing resources, they overlook a critical piece of the puzzle: biodiversity indicators.

At the Centre for Science and Technology Innovations (CSTI) here in Nairobi, we celebrate energy and water efficiency as the first step in carbon footprint reduction awareness but we champion biodiversity and NetZero insetting as the most effective transition roadmap.

Here are some awareness statistics to help you see new opportunities for integrating NetZero Insetting and Biodiversity to transform construction supply chain innovation and operations management:

Biodiversity Loss Amplifies Risk

When biodiversity declines, ecosystem stability erodes:

• The World Economic Forum estimates that over $44 trillion of global GDP—more than half—is dependent on nature and its services.
• The World Wildlife Fund's Living Planet Report 2022 showed that, since 1970, 69% of wildlife populations have been lost globally, increasing vulnerability to extreme climate events like floods, droughts, and wildfires .

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warns that such biodiversity loss is as dangerous as climate change itself.

What Does This Mean for Construction?

There is a need for the global finance community to use a more holistic risk management lens. Specifically, short-term transitions start the momentum but cannot win the sustainability race without long-term planning.

Energy and water efficiency focus on immediate savings, but biodiversity offers a long-term perspective:

• Let Nature help you grow your money and sustainability impact: UNEP’s report Becoming #Generation Restoration found that every $1 invested in restoration creates up to $30 in economic benefits [HINT: this is better than any compounding interest rate you will get from a bank].
• Multiple revenue streams grow naturally: Biodiverse ecosystems provide 75% of global food crops, regulate 47% of medical supplies, and contribute over $125 trillion annually in ecosystem services. [HINT: even if you are the World's wealthiest billionaire and try to remove birds from Twitter spaces, Mother Nature has you beat in wealth. If you are not anywhere close to billionaire and you are terrified about what is going to happen to your revenues in this world of AI, think about all the diverse and LOCAL (no need for imports) revenue streams you can create by focusing on partnerships for what humans do best - AI can make you and your employees more productive by getting you the data you need faster[

Biodiversity is nature’s safety net. Healthy ecosystems act as natural buffers against climate extremes—mangroves reduce storm surges, wetlands filter water and prevent flooding, and forests regulate rainfall and temperature. Without biodiversity, even the most energy-efficient systems are vulnerable to climate shocks.

Energy and Water Systems Rely on Nature

Energy and water systems are intrinsically tied to ecosystem health:

• Degraded forested watersheds can cut hydropower production by up to 20%. A study estimated that deforestation could reduce hydropower generation by 38% at the Belo Monte Hydropower Complex in Brazil due to the loss in moisture recycling from trees.
• WTW researchers highlight UK, Netherlands, US and Canada collaboration to produce the Engineering with Nature USACE Natural and Nature based solutions Guidelines 2021. The impact: "Across 3,100 km of the U.S. coastline, nature based solutions lead to $2.7 billion billion in damages to buildings avoided."
• Efficiency is a different metric from effectiveness. When it comes to reducing heat island effects, early evidence suggests temperatures over a 1MW urban parking lot PV plant "were regularly 3–4?°C warmer than wildlands at night, which is in direct contrast to other studies based on models that suggested that PV systems should decrease ambient temperatures."

?? The Bottom Line: Without thriving ecosystems, efficiency measures are like building a house on sand—temporary and unstable. By prioritizing biodiversity indicators, we invest in the foundations of climate risk reduction.

Besides, isn't it time we all lived in cities and urban spaces that look as beautiful as a luxury resort?

Africa has an incredible diversity of landscapes, temperatures and ecosystems (yes, even snow) meaning that what has not yet been built can serve as a resilience construction + resilience finance model for almost any part of the world, expect areas with sub-zero winter temperatures.

Let’s shape a resilient, NetZero, and Nature Positive future for Africa’s construction industry!

#ResilienceFinance #NetZero #Insetting #NaturePositive #SustainableConstruction #ClimateAdaptation