Written by: Preferred by Nature
While the traditional assurance model is losing ground, Ecosystems Services and Ecosystems Restoration provide strong cases for a more collaborative and dynamic approach - and perhaps a new way forward, writes Preferred by Nature.
Copenhagen, 5.10.22.
War, inflation, broken supply chains and multiple other disruptive factors are currently painting a bleak picture of the future: Previous steps to slow down climate change are even reversed, as countries are going back to their old fossil habits.
And while the explosive growth of ecolabels - some 460 standards are presently fighting for attention - may reflect a healthy demand and a growing awareness with consumers, this trend is certainly also an indication of fierce competition, which may drive down the quality of some schemes and members away from others.
Today, perhaps more than ever, there is a need for the assurance landscape and its stakeholders to be inventive, agile and to adapt to a world, which has changed significantly since the first FSC label appeared.
Global platforms and restoration initiatives such as the Bonn Challenge, the Aichi Targets, the New York Declaration on Forests, and the UN Decade for Restoration are already setting targets that are essential, if the continuous degradation of ecosystems is to be reversed.
The scale of restoration needed is almost incomprehensible: Hundreds of millions of hectares globally, according to the UN. But the returns on this “investment” will be manyfold, benefiting both businesses, people, nature - and the climate.
That is why we believe in a dynamic approach, collaborating with other schemes and services, to optimize the impact of our work. Only by joining forces, exchanging knowledge and tools will we have a realistic chance to make a real difference and reverse the devastating degradation of our ecosystems currently taking place.
Our vision is a world where, for the health and wellbeing of all life on Earth and that of future generations, we have restored the relationship between humans and nature, by increasing the area of healthy ecosystems and by putting a stop to their loss, fragmentation and degradation
Unfortunately, the targets and agreements from Bonn and Paris have been more effective in generating hope and commitments than in generating real change and progress.
We all need to do our part to bridge that gap. Let us collaborate.