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About the green economy
The resilience of the global economy is intricately linked to the state of the environment. Nature provides the foundation for the raw material and processes needed for industrial production, commerce and trade. Today, companies are facing many nature-related challenges including water scarcity, climate change, over-exploitation of natural resources and pollution, all of which can threaten their future viability.
Billions of people work in the private sector, and business is a key driver of social and economic development. Some are beginning to see the value of biodiversity, the need to protect it, and the need to invest in it.
At the same time, a company's 'license to operate' in a particular country or its access to global markets increasingly depends on sound environmental credentials.
In the current global recession, with huge stimulus investments coming from governments, now more than ever, we should be investing in nature to drive sustainable economic and social growth.
Some facts
- - While 35% of the Earth's surface is already dedicated to agriculture, irrigated crop production will need to increase by 80% by 2030 to match rising demand
- - The world's commercial fisheries are likely to collapse in less than 50 years unless current trends are reversed
- - In the Caribbean, the direct result of coral reef destruction has resulted in a 20% decline in tourism revenues (equal to approximately US$ 300 million per year)
- - Hundreds of medicinal plant species, whose naturally occurring chemicals make up the basis of all prescription drugs, are threatened with extinction.
- - New 'green markets' for organic agriculture, certified food and timber products are growing three times faster than the average, and could reach US$60 billion by 2010
- - Around the world, it is estimated that protected areas could produce benefits, goods and ecosystem services worth between US$4,400 and US$5,200 billion a year.
Critical steps in the necessary transition to a greener economy include:
1- demonstrating the economic significance of biodiversity and ecosystems.
An enhanced appreciation of the full value of nature will enable the necessary changes in both public and private policies to ensure that economic development is truly sustainable. The ongoing international study on The Ecosystems of Biodiversity and Ecosystems (TEEB), in which IUCN plays a leading role is an essential step forward in terms of enhancing our understanding of the links between the environment and the economy.
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2-providing decision makers with knowledge and tools
To embark on the path towards a greener economy, we need to identify innovative opportunities, approaches and potential new sources of financing for biodiversity conservation. IUCN generates significant experience in the use of equitable incentives for conservation such as payments for ecosystem services (PES).
For more information please click here.
connect2earth encourages the establishment and growth of innovative markets for public environmental goods and services, such as trading in carbon credits and banking of wetlands.
Click here for an example.
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3-Empowering private sector companies to lead the way to the development of more sustainable business models and practices
By working directly with industry leaders to generate positive change, it is hoped that others in the field will follow suit. Through partnerships with leading businesses, IUCN is helping to set robust sustainability standards for a variety of industry sectors (e.g. agriculture, extractives, tourism) facing specific conservation issues in their operations.
Example: IUCN is bringing together scientists and business people to help to reduce the impacts of recent oil and gas exploration and production in the offshore regions around Sakhalin Island to protect the western Pacific population of gray whale
connect2earth supports the development of sustainable enterprises in areas such as renewable energy, organic agriculture and ecotourism.
Example: IUCN is working with partners PhytoTrade Africa to identify, build and respond to new and emerging markets to build sustainable opportunities for rural and largely female beneficiaries. Natural Futures takes a comprehensive approach to sector development that supports producers at the grassroots level, matching supply with demand, for example, and meeting the import requirements of overseas buyers, while carrying out policy and advocacy work to enhance opportunities within the sector.
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