UNEP-WCMC’s Post

Is "nexus assessment" a lens for ecosystems-based approach or systems thinking?

The IPBES report highlights how siloed approaches can't solve interconnected challenges. Treating biodiversity loss, water availability, climate change, food security and health as isolated issues - or even framing them as trade-offs - won't lead to progress. The chart below makes it clear: continuing down the path of nature exploitation harms all other elements. In contrast a nature-oriented or balanced scenario can deliver positive outcomes across the board - supporting ecological processes, food production, health, and climate adaptation and mitigation. Integrated solutions are not just desirable; they're essential. You can read the summary for policymakers here: https://lnkd.in/du4Nz8hV #Biodiversity #ClimateChange #WaterSecurity #FoodSecurity #IntegratedSolutions

Hannah Ritchie on why it makes sense to be optimistic about the environment – Luisa Rodriguez interviews Hannah Ritchie, head of research at Our World in Data, on the case for environmental optimism. They cover: - Why agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa could be so important, and how much better things could get - Hannah's new book about how we could be the first generation to build a sustainable planet - Whether climate change is the most worrying environmental issue - How we reduced outdoor air pollution - Why Hannah is worried about the state of biodiversity - Solutions that address multiple environmental issues at once - How the world coordinated to address the hole in the ozone layer - Surprises from Our World in Data’s research - Psychological challenges that come up in Hannah’s work - And plenty more https://lnkd.in/eQDUY6Q6 #Actionable #AgriculturalProductivity #AirPollution #AnimalWelfare #BiodiversityLoss #ClimateChange #DataViz #Deforestation #Doomerism #EnvironmentalOptimism #FoodProduction #FoodWaste #FossilFuels #Freshwater #GlobalPoverty #HabitatLoss #ImposterSyndrome #IndividualChange #MeatConsumption #Overfishing #OWID #PlasticPollution #PolicyChange #ScienceCommunication #SustainableDevelopment #SystemicChange #TEDTalk

We need more systems thinkers! We cannot consider the threats to our natural world and well-being in isolation. We need approaches that break down silos and allow us to tackle the challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change, water availability, food security, and health together! This is the focus of the latest IPBES report, which Carbon Brief has done a brilliant job of summarizing! 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀: 1.      Biodiversity loss puts food and water systems, human health and the climate at risk 2.      Focusing solely on food security leads to ‘severe trade-offs’ with climate, water and biodiversity 3.      Shifting to sustainable healthy diets will benefit people and the planet 4.      All available options for restoring nature would also help to tackle and adapt to climate change 5.      Reforming global financial systems can help close the biodiversity funding gap Check out their great overview and the terrific accompanying visuals here: https://lnkd.in/egDGgB_M #nature #climate #biodiversity #sustainability #food #water #energy #finance

Finance is soooo far behind that it is too slow with funding! The World needs kick in ass in all industries, archaic strategies! #leanarchitecture to increase efficiency completely failed especially #oldtech #oilgas with #newtech #EVBest

People are so used to thinking with siloed mindsets that they fail to think about the causal relationships of everything in the world. Food systems are one example of this. There's so much gap in access to food between the rich and the poor. There's a lot of wastage, land conversions, but also food waste. Food waste mixed in the normal waste leads to more waste going to the landfill. It's not only CO2 that is rising but also CH4. In some cultures, having more options on the table, while not being able to finish them is a norm. A lot of lands in Brazil are being converted to pasture. We have progressed over the years but also built an apathetic culture where if a problem doesn't directly impact us we don't think they exist.

It's seldom that an analysis is done systemically from multiple perspectives. This post and link do.

Insightful article on how we are failing to implement solutions that address the systemic challenges and how integrated approaches can deliver benefits across #biodiversity, #climate, #water, #health and #foodsystems. #NatureAndPeoplePositive #resilientcities #improvingqualityoflife #PlanetPositive #unsdgs https://lnkd.in/ejDMG2J8

This announcement may have gone a bit under the radar. In December, the IPBES released the policy summary of a very comprehensive report showing the strong and complex interlinkages between biodiversity, climate change, water, food and health. While IPBES has looked into the climate-biodiversity nexus in the past, this is the most ambitious report looking at the 5 themes together and how over 70 responses that already exist in practice can impact each of them, the co-benefits and tradeoffs. It is a call to act urgently, avoid the carbon tunnel vision and ensure a fair transition. As one of the authors put it: “we can’t always avoid tradeoffs, but we can acknowledge and manage for them. Ignoring them results in unaccounted for cost and unintended consequences”. View the summary report here: https://lnkd.in/gjR2mjzh #NexusAssessment #biodiversity

🌍 The United Nations Environment Programme #UNEP has released the Global Resources Outlook 2024 offering an assessment of our planet's ecological health. In 2020, about 90% of total water withdrawals in low-income countries were for agricultural purposes, compared to only about 40% in high-income countries. The report also stated: 💧 Biodiversity loss and water stress are primarily related to food provisioning in all regions. 💧 North America and Europe scored the highest water stress footprints, as well as West Asia. To learn more, read the full report: https://buff.ly/3P7VX43 #Waterwithdrawal #FreshwaterPollution #waterstress #waterscaricty #GlobalResourcesOutlook2024 #EcologicalHealth #ClimateChange #BiodiversityLoss #Pollution #Sustainability