Economics of Biodiversity
Wednesday, September 28
13:30 - 15:00
Our economy, livelihood and well-being depend on nature, our most valuable asset.
We are part of nature; we are inseparable from it. We rely on nature to provide us with food, water and shelter; it regulates our climate and diseases, maintains nutrient cycles and oxygen production, gives us spiritual fulfillment and opportunities for rest and recreation that can improve our health and well-being.
Biodiversity allows nature to be productive, sustainable and adaptable. Just as diversity in a portfolio of financial assets reduces risk and uncertainty by increasing potential returns, diversity in a portfolio of natural assets increases nature's resilience to shocks by reducing the risks of natural disasters. When biodiversity declines, nature and humanity suffer first and foremost.
What is needed are financial and legal systems that will direct financial investment, both public and private, to economic activities that increase our stock of natural assets and encourage sustainable consumption and production activities.
Financial institutions can help us manage and mitigate the risks and uncertainties arising from our unsustainable interaction with nature.
Large-scale and broad-based investments in nature-based solutions can help us address biodiversity loss and make a significant contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation, not to mention broader economic benefits, including job creation.
The discussion session will include the following questions:
- Goals and objectives of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration;
- Increasing the financial role of the biodiversity economy;
- Biotechnology, genetics, and new challenges facing the world community;
- The role of human activity in conservation and development of the world's biodiversity;
- Preparing for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Canada in December 2022.
Moderator
Alexander Shestakov
Former Director of Science, Society and Sustainable Futures Division, UNCBD
Speakers
Dmitriy Gorshkov
Director, WWF Russia
Oliver Hillel
Programme Officer, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Rolf Hogan
Progrаmme Development Coordinator, Landscape Finance Lab
Ivan Kushch
Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Climate Change of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia
Elena Myakotnikova
Advisor to the CEO, SIBUR
Sergey Tsiplenkov
Executive Director, Greenpeace Russia
* The Programme may be subject to change