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Diagnosis prepared by 120 scientists warns of the importance of biodiversity

Document launched today in Rio reinforces the role of environmental assets in boosting the economy

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Nine days before the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which will take place in Egypt from 17 to 29/11, and less than two months before the inauguration of the new president and elected governors, the launch, today, at Rio de Janeiro, from Summary for Decision Makers of the 1st Brazilian Diagnosis of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, marks a moment that is both critical and opportune for the sustainable development agenda in the international and national context. The Summary was prepared by the Brazilian Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BPBES).

At a global level, attention always turns to Brazil, which, as the holder of the greatest biodiversity on the planet, plays a central role in macro discussions and whose decline in biological wealth generates impacts beyond its borders. The country's political scenario, with the alternation of mandates that will occur in the Executive and Legislative branches, also signals a range of possibilities and directions, depending on the deliberations of the new government plans and the proposals to be guided and approved in the National Congress .

Ecosystem services are the benefits provided by nature that sustain life on the planet, such as clean water, pure air, food, climate regulation and protection against natural disasters, energy, pollination, leisure and even cultural goods and emotional values. Therefore, the impact of biodiversity loss on quality of life is great, as is the pressing challenge of showing society the importance of these services provided by natural systems for human beings. “The preparation of a document of this magnitude for Brazil has a global impact due to the relevance that the country has on this topic, and is a significant step towards the recognition of the Platform and to influence decision makers, especially at the time we are living in, because it is an exempt report”, assesses consultant and environmentalist Fábio Feldmann.

The Summary is a document that aims to support decision-making in the public and private spheres and brings the main results consolidated in the First Diagnosis, prepared by a group of more than 120 researchers. Participating in the coordination of the Diagnosis were Carlos Joly, from the Institute of Biology (IB), and Cristiana Seixas, from the Center for Environmental Studies and Research (Nepam), both from Unicamp.

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The role in preserving biodiversity and the ancestral knowledge of indigenous peoples was highlighted in the Diagnosis

From the University, in addition to researchers from IB and Nepam, authors from the Center for Meteorological and Climate Research Applied to Agriculture (Cepagri), the Interdisciplinary Center for Energy Planning (Nipe) and the Laboratory for Advanced Studies in Journalism (Labjor) collaborated.

Biologist and professor Carlos Joly, coordinator of the Platform, reveals that the document reinforces the results that have been highlighted since 2005 by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the first analysis of the health of the planet's ecosystems and their relationship with human well-being. “It became clear that human activities, mainly changes in land use and climate change, were the main drivers of biodiversity loss, whether due to habitat loss, pollution, or demand for exploitation. And the completion of the First Brazilian Diagnosis of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services confirmed that this scenario is also a reality in Brazil, and that it has been increasing quite quickly, perhaps because we are precisely the country with the greatest biodiversity on the planet”, he explains.


threatened megadiversity

The continental dimension provides Brazil with great spatial heterogeneity and natural resources. It is estimated that the country is home to 42 thousand plant species and around 9 thousand vertebrates, including high rates of endemism, that is, species that only exist in its territory. Regarding invertebrates, around 130 thousand species are known, but estimates of the total number are still very imprecise.

Furthermore, Brazil has a cultural diversity that is as rich as its biological diversity. The country is home to more than 500 sacred natural sites associated with multiple cultural manifestations. According to IBGE, around 900 thousand indigenous people live in the country, divided between 305 ethnicities and speak at least 274 languages. Traditional communities (such as caiçaras, quilombolas, rubber tappers, riverside dwellers, coconut-babaçu breakers, pantaneiros, among others) constitute around 5 million Brazilians and occupy 1/4 of the territory.

Indigenous peoples and traditional communities depend directly on nature to maintain their ways of life and culture and, therefore, have a wealth of knowledge about the dynamics of ecosystems and human-environment interactions. These people hold knowledge and practices of agrobiodiversity, fishing, fire management and natural medicine, among others of commercial, cultural and spiritual value. Even though they are ancient, they are often unknown to society in general. “Incorporating indigenous and traditional knowledge about Brazilian biodiversity into the day-to-day life of society represents a great opportunity”, says biologist Mercedes Bustamante, professor at the University of Brasília (UnB) and also coordinator of the Platform.

According to Bustamante, in the last two decades Brazilian biomes have undergone critical changes, resulting both from the impacts of poorly planned human activities and natural disasters, which cause increasing losses of biodiversity and ecosystem services which, in turn, have direct repercussions economy and human well-being.

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Carlos Joly, Mercedes Bustamante and Fabio Scarano, three of the Platform's coordinators

The national list of threatened species currently includes 1.173 species of fauna and 2.118 species of flora. Bustamante points out that, until 2030 and throughout much of the 21st century, changes in land use that generate conversion and fragmentation of natural habitats to introduce new environments, especially agricultural and urban areas, are among the main factors in the loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation in Brazil.

She remembers, however, that other direct vectors of pressure add to this context, such as climate change, pollution and biological invasion. “Therefore, the conservation and management of natural resources require coordination between different sectors of the economy and society to guarantee the foundations of sustainable development for Brazil”, warns Bustamante.


bipolar governance

According to the authors of the Summary, the official governance of biodiversity and ecosystem services in Brazil is “bipolar”. If, on the one hand, the country has strong and capable institutions, on the other, there are infrastructure problems, slow processes, legal, social and ecological conflicts and there is inefficiency in actions.

Joly observes that Brazil has a dubious position in relation to international agreements. “It is a protagonist abroad, as was the case in Nagoya, when the Aichi Targets were established, and in the global climate discussion of the Paris Agreement. It provided great support in the discussion of the Sustainable Development Goals, which were born at RIO+20, in 2012. However, apart from this international protagonism, internally the country does exactly the opposite of what these agreements preach. Brazil is systematically undergoing a process of dismantling its environmental policy”, points out the scientist.

The document also highlights that, in the country, natural resources receive treatment within the scope of sectoral policies. “Biodiversity and ecosystem services are perceived as an obstacle or at most an appendage to the development process when, in fact, they constitute the basis for gaining competitiveness in a global environment”, highlights one of the points in the Summary. The report warns that the form of governance over the territory directly affects biodiversity and ecosystems, with consequences for the well-being of Brazilians. “Decisions and the way they are made determine the current and future state of the environment. Therefore, one of Brazil's main challenges for the coming years is the alignment of development policies, especially agricultural policy, with the use and conservation of biodiversity. Additionally, the restoration of native ecosystems emerges as a promising strategy to mitigate, and in some cases, reverse the effects of environmental degradation, but it still lacks appropriate mechanisms and policies to implement it”, states Bustamante.


Opportunity with expiration date

According to the document, the window of time and opportunities to consolidate the basis of a sustainable future in Brazil is limited. It requires that biodiversity be placed at the center of discussions promptly, and in a transversal manner, and that its threat factors be effectively combatted and mitigated. There is urgency in choices for this sustainable future and it is also essential to ensure compliance with existing laws through regulatory and incentive mechanisms, in line with the international sustainability commitments assumed by the country. “The current global and national pressures, in the social, economic and environmental fields, are countless and growing and the current development model is prescribing. A new model is needed that incorporates the challenges of a planet undergoing rapid socio-environmental and climate change”, says the text.


Reasoned decision making

The First Brazilian Diagnosis of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services compiled a synthesis, materialized in the Summary, of the knowledge available on the topic over the last 10 years. After analyzing all the results of studies carried out on the subject, scientists now have a solid basis to support the improvement of public and private policies and indicate possible paths and options, so that the trajectory of continuous loss of biodiversity can be reversed .

“Over the past few decades, scientific studies have generated databases that clearly show us trends and scenarios. With the tools available today, such as modeling, for example, we can also predict the trajectory of a certain policy based on scientific evidence, if it is applied correctly. That is, we can give the decision-maker the option of assessing what the future impact of the decision he is taking today will be,” explains Joly.

“If we indicate a pollinator protection policy that clearly shows that this result will not only protect pollinator species, but will also increase our agricultural productivity, the decision maker has real data in hand to discuss with different sectors and reach to decisions that are applicable and actually implemented”, he adds.

Forest engineer Fabio Scarano, professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), who is also one of the Platform's coordinators, reveals that the expectation is that the federal government, state governments and elected Congress will be informed about the opportunity that means the country has the greatest diversity of species on the planet. “If the new rulers do not understand or have doubts, we are available to clarify and discuss. As the elaboration of the Diagnosis involved more than a hundred scientists and evaluations, criticisms and dialogue with different sectors of society, we believe that it is representative and that, therefore, it will be informative for our new leaders and, with this, we hope to guide its actions in relation to biodiversity, one of the country’s greatest assets”, says Scarano.

UNB professor and former national secretary of Climate Change at the Ministry of the Environment, Carlos Klink, highlights the importance of involving decision makers in the process. “Synthesis of knowledge is an important step, but it cannot be sufficient in itself. Narrative becomes more relevant to sectors when it is written with them, not for them; it must be an instrument of engagement with the sectors. By building bridges between science and decision-makers, realistic and feasible solutions will be proposed for the environmental issues that are so pressing in today's world,” he comments.

 


Platform was created in 2015

The Brazilian Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Platform (BPBES) is an initiative created in 2015 that brings together an independent group made up of around 120 authors, including university professors, researchers, environmental managers and/or decision makers. Its objective is to produce syntheses of the best knowledge available from academic science and traditional knowledge on the themes of biodiversity and ecosystem services and their relationships with human well-being, focusing on the continental biomes of Brazil (Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, Cerrado, Pantanal, Campos Sulinos) and in the coastal-marine. To this end, it promotes sectoral work meetings with groups of varied interests – such as representatives of the federal government, non-governmental organizations, companies, indigenous ethnic groups and journalists – with the aim of sharing the main results, debating and listening to criticisms and suggestions.

The Brazilian Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Platform (BPBES) is an initiative created in 2015 that brings together an independent group made up of around 120 authors, including university professors, researchers, environmental managers and/or decision makers. Its objective is to produce syntheses of the best knowledge available from academic science and traditional knowledge on the themes of biodiversity and ecosystem services and their relationships with human well-being, focusing on the continental biomes of Brazil (Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, Cerrado, Pantanal, Campos Sulinos) and in the coastal-marine. To this end, it promotes sectoral work meetings with groups of varied interests – such as representatives of the federal government, non-governmental organizations, companies, indigenous ethnic groups and journalists – with the aim of sharing the main results, debating and listening to criticisms and suggestions.
 

 

 

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