International Day for Biological Diversity: Effective protection of biodiversity is more important than ever!

22 May is the International Day for Biological Diversity. Biodiversity Day was established to emphasise the importance of biodiversity for society and the economy and to raise awareness of the need for nature conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. It falls on 22 May, as this is the date on which the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted by the international community in Nairobi in 1992. The motto for 2025 is ‘Harmony between nature and sustainable development’ – a fitting motto for the work of many corsus projects.

The loss of biodiversity has now reached such an extent that there is now talk of the sixth mass extinction in the history of the earth. With the loss of biodiversity, many services that form the basis for human development and sustainable prosperity are also being lost or restricted. These include, in particular, the provision of food, the storage and purification of water, soil fertility, carbon fixation and the aesthetic and cultural value of biodiversity.

Half of all economic output is dependent on biodiversity. The economic benefits of biodiversity are estimated to be at least twice as high as the global gross domestic product at between 170 and 190 trillion US dollars per year, while the loss of biodiversity will cost the global economy 2.7 trillion US dollars per year by 2030. However, it is not only economic costs that will be incurred, but also consequential social damage such as heat-related deaths due to overheating in cities, respiratory diseases caused by a lack of plant-based air filters or the destruction of buildings and infrastructure due to uncontrollable flooding. It is therefore essential for companies and local authorities to use resources and land sensibly and responsibly in order to minimise the loss of natural habitats and to preserve and restore green spaces.

Municipalities have various opportunities to promote biodiversity. For example, the green-blue infrastructure can be improved through biotope networking and renaturalisation measures in order to create habitats and dispersal routes for animals and plants. For instance, corsus has supported the large-scale nature conservation projects ‘Naturally Hamburg’ for the green axes and ‘Hamburg, your river nature’ to connect the city’s blue lifelines. In urban areas, unsealing and greening façades offer a wide range of opportunities to promote biodiversity and improve the urban climate. Biodiversity protection is closely linked to climate protection in terms of the content and effectiveness of measures. The protection, conversion and renaturalisation of moors, for example, also offer great leverage for local authorities and districts. An important contribution can also be made in public procurement. corsus advises on practical implementation in procurement processes and has developed guidelines for public procurement.

Above all, companies are required to integrate the protection and promotion of biodiversity into their management processes. The management of biodiversity in companies works in the same way as the management of other sustainability issues: First, the status quo is analysed in order to define hot spots and starting points. Subsequently, goals are defined on this basis, measures are derived, a budget is set and responsibilities are assigned. When analysing the status quo, it is essential to trace the supply chains back to their origin, as this is where the greatest leverage for protecting biodiversity usually lies. One measure can be to calculate the biodiversity footprint (analogous to the climate footprint) of one’s own products and services in order to record the status quo and monitor future developments. The BioVal research project, which is led by Ulrike Eberle, Managing Director of corsus, at Witten/Herdecke University, has developed a practical handbook for managing biodiversity in the food industry and a wide range of practical tools. corsus is involved in the Biodiversity in Good Company network to promote the protection of biodiversity together and in dialogue with other companies.

The protection of biodiversity is essential for food in particular. In many projects, corsus identifies starting points and relevant levers for reducing the impact on biodiversity. For example, corsus has calculated the biodiversity footprint of food in Germany for the first time. The ModErn project is currently calculating how the impact on biodiversity would change if everyone ate according to the dietary recommendations of the German Nutrition Society (DGE). The ‘10 Must Knows’, which were developed by leading scientists and in whose development corsus was involved, summarise important facts and starting points for the protection of biodiversity. With this in mind, we appeal to everyone to take action to protect and promote biodiversity!

You can find a podcast on the topic with Dr Ulrike Eberle here.