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1 – 10 of over 3000The purpose of this paper is to explain how proponents of biodiversity offsetting have sought to produce an ecologically defensible mechanism for reconciling economic development…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain how proponents of biodiversity offsetting have sought to produce an ecologically defensible mechanism for reconciling economic development and biodiversity conservation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyses a case study biodiversity offsetting mechanism in New South Wales, Australia. Michel Callon’s framing and overflowing metaphor is used to explain how accounting devices are brought into the mechanism, to (re)frame a space of calculability and address anxieties expressed by conservationists about calculations of net loss/gain of biodiversity.
Findings
The analysis shows that the offsetting mechanism embeds a form of accounting for biodiversity that runs counter to the prevailing dominant anthropocentric approach. Rather than accounting for the biodiversity of a site in terms of the economic benefits it provides to humans, the mechanism accounts for biodiversity in terms of its ecological value. This analysis, therefore, reveals a form of accounting for biodiversity that uses numbers to provide valuations of biodiversity, but these numbers are ecological numbers, not economic numbers. So this is a calculative, and also ecocentric, approach to accounting for, and valuing, biodiversity.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the extant literature on accounting for biodiversity by revealing a novel conceptualisation of the reconciliation of economic development and biodiversity conservation, producing an ecologically defensible form of sustainable development. The paper also makes a methodological contribution by showing how Callon’s framing and overflowing metaphor can be used to enable the kind of interdisciplinary engagement needed for researchers to address sustainable development challenges.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe and examine the problem of biodiversity loss and to explain its underlying causes and the possibilities of using economic instruments to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe and examine the problem of biodiversity loss and to explain its underlying causes and the possibilities of using economic instruments to conserve it.
Design/methodology/approach
The research in this paper was undertaken through a review of the literature and an analysis of data on the trends of various measures of biodiversity worldwide.
Findings
The loss of biodiversity is occurring worldwide at a rapid rate that has the potential to significantly undermine the prospects for sustainable development. Although the main proximate cause of biodiversity loss is land conversion, the fundamental causes are rooted in economic, institutional, and social factors and include market failures and the lack of property rights.
Practical implications
This paper presents arguments in support of using economic instruments to conserve biodiversity and explains the conditions under which the use of these instruments is likely to be most successful.
Originality/value
This paper illuminates the economic, social and institutional factors that underlie the rapid loss of biodiversity and outlines some ways in which economic instruments can be used to stem the loss of biodiversity.
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Biodiversity loss now ranks as one of the most significant global drivers of environmental change. In an increasingly urbanized world, there is enormous potential to address this…
Abstract
Biodiversity loss now ranks as one of the most significant global drivers of environmental change. In an increasingly urbanized world, there is enormous potential to address this problem through conservation, restoration, and creation of new urban ecosystems. This chapter explores how nature-based solutions (NBS) can contribute to addressing the urgent problem of biodiversity loss in a way that goes beyond just greening gray environments. It then explores the alignment (and misalignment) between the ways in which NBS is framed as a nature conservation tool globally and the ways in which biodiversity is considered in urban approaches to NBS. Finally, the chapter explores the ways in which NBS might become an essential part of the solution to biodiversity and ecosystem decline. It discusses how NBS can be effectively leveraged to address the biodiversity crisis in urban areas, through conservation, restoration, and efforts to create thriving places for both people and nature. Although the concept of NBS in urban areas is fairly divorced from its nature conservation origins, reconnecting with those ecological roots is important for creating biodiverse, resilient cities. In so doing, NBS could offer a unified concept for environmental management in urban areas that integrates the ecological benefits of nature conservation with an innovative focus on confronting major societal challenges. Though this is a demanding task, it could provide a fit-for-purpose approach for conserving biodiversity and supporting functional ecosystems in the Anthropocene.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the processes involved in the creation and eventual demise of a market for biodiversity offsets in the UK. The reasons for the failure of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the processes involved in the creation and eventual demise of a market for biodiversity offsets in the UK. The reasons for the failure of this market to take hold as a governance mechanism are considered, and its subsequent effects examined.
Design/methodology/approach
The research examines a single case study of the creation of a pilot market for biodiversity offsets in the UK. Data include policy and industry papers, complemented with interviews with biodiversity offset practitioners, regulators and non-government organisations.
Findings
The case study demonstrates that a market for biodiversity offsets was piloted with the intent to contribute to the reform of the UK planning regime. However, disagreements about this political project, uncertainties in the knowledge base, and continued entanglements with existing biodiversity meant it was impossible to stabilise the assemblages necessary to support the market, leading to its eventual demise. However, the principles and devices of offsetting have proved more resilient, and have started to combine with the existing arrangements for the governance of nature.
Practical implications
The paper presents a situation where a political project to reform governance arrangements through the creation of a market was not successful, making it of interest to researchers and policymakers alike.
Originality/value
While biodiversity offsetting has been widely discussed from scientific, legal and political perspectives, this paper addresses it as a market, explicitly designed to become a part of a governance regime. It also advances the understanding of the mechanisms by which similar processes of marketisation can fail, and suggests avenues for future research in those contexts.
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Biodiversity conservation is a major challenge globally. This global challenge exists due to the Scarcity of funds to preserve biodiversity. The need for more funds is the primary…
Abstract
Biodiversity conservation is a major challenge globally. This global challenge exists due to the Scarcity of funds to preserve biodiversity. The need for more funds is the primary issue in managing biodiversity in this uncertain environment wherein different challenges emerge routinely. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to focus on the issues of biodiversity conservation and to examine alternative sources for biodiversity financing. Biodiversity is a multidimensional aspect covering several facets of the environment. It acts as a life support on earth and is a catalyst for human survival. However, biodiversity conservation is critical due to the Scarcity of biodiversity financing (Negacz, Petersson, Widerberg, Kok, & Pattberg, 2022). Thus, it is the need of the hour to overcome this issue by examining varied sources to generate more funds for preserving biodiversity. The study is based on a systematic review of past research wherein possible alternatives have been provided for generating necessary funds to mitigate biodiversity loss. It is revealed through past literature that though effort is made to combat the problem of funds, a very minimal effort is made at the individual level. More so framework lneeds to be not implemented globally. Therefore, the present study has proposed the practice of Green finance as an innovative financial mechanism to deal with biodiversity loss by emphasising environmental benefits. As laid down in this paper, a theoretical framework about biodiversity loss will encourage researchers to carry out various studies from varied outlooks to have a holistic approach towards this issue, hence ensuring environmental sustainability.
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Ralph Adler, Mansi Mansi and Rakesh Pandey
The purpose of this paper is to explore the biodiversity and threatened species reporting of the top 150 Fortune Global companies. The paper has two main objectives: to explore…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the biodiversity and threatened species reporting of the top 150 Fortune Global companies. The paper has two main objectives: to explore the extent to which the top 150 Fortune Global companies disclose information about their biodiversity and species conservation practices, and to explore the effects of biodiversity partners and industry on companies’ biodiversity and threatened species reporting.
Design/methodology/approach
The study’s sample is the top 150 Fortune Global companies. Each company’s fiscal year ending 2014 annual report, its 2014 sustainability report, and its company website were content analyzed for evidence of biodiversity and threatened species reporting. This content analysis is supplemented by a detailed analysis that focusses on the sample’s top five reporters, including a phone interview with a senior sustainability manager working at one of these companies. Finally, a regression analysis was conducted to examine the associations between companies’ biodiversity and threatened species reporting and the presence/absence of biodiversity partners and a company’s industry F&C Asset Management industry category.
Findings
The reporting on biodiversity and threatened species by the top 150 Fortune Global companies is quite limited. Few companies (less than 15) are providing any substantial reporting. It was further observed that even among the high scoring companies there is a lack of consistent reporting across all index items. A subsequent empirical examination of these companies’ disclosures on biodiversity and threatened species showed a statistically positive association between the amount of reporting and companies’ holding of biodiversity partnerships. It was also observed that firms categorized as red- and green-zone companies made more disclosures on biodiversity and threatened species than amber-zone companies.
Originality/value
This is the first study to systematically analyze corporate disclosures related to threatened species and habitats. While some prior studies have included the concept of biodiversity when analyzing organizations’ environmental disclosures, they have done so by examining it as one general category out of many further categories for investigating organizations’ environmental reporting. In the present study, the focus is on the specific contents of biodiversity disclosures. As such, this study has the twin research objectives of seeking to illuminate the current state of biodiversity and threatened species reporting by the world’s largest multinationals and provide an appreciation for how certain organizational and industry variables serve to influence these reporting practices. These multiple insights offer companies, and potentially regulators, understanding about how to include (or extend) disclosures on biodiversity loss and species under threat of extinction.
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Jean Raar, Meropy Barut and Mohammad Istiaq Azim
The purpose of this paper is to re-kindle debate about finding a conceptual and pragmatic basis for accounting and accountability researchers and to incorporate biodiversity…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to re-kindle debate about finding a conceptual and pragmatic basis for accounting and accountability researchers and to incorporate biodiversity management into the internal practices, routines and communication of organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative interplay of theories, particularly structuration theory, applied to an interdisciplinary, communitarian and eco-centric perspective will be used to demonstrate the need for change: for researchers and practitioners to interact with other disciplines and adapt their professional, institutional and governance practices to incorporate biodiversity management and reporting within organizational structures.
Findings
Collective community action can be undertaken by aligning physical biodiversity and its setting with the interrelationship between external information structures, accountability and internal information structures, agent behaviour and the reporting of outcomes. This should assist in reducing the loss of species and richness triggered by unsound economic decision-making.
Practical implications
This is perhaps one of the few accounting studies which discuss theoretical frameworks for the integration of accounting/accountability systems and biological diversity information through a conceptual rethinking.
Social implications
This should assist in reducing the loss of species and richness triggered by unsound economic decision-making.
Originality/value
This paper re-opens the debate regarding the need for an alternative conceptual approach through which biodiversity management can be incorporated into the complexities of business interactions, and the social and natural systems, by using management accounting as a primary vehicle. This is perhaps one of the few accounting studies which discuss theoretical frameworks for the integration of accounting/accountability systems and biological diversity information through a conceptual rethinking.
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Madlen Sobkowiak, Thomas Cuckston and Ian Thomson
This research seeks to explain how a national government becomes capable of constructing an account of its biodiversity performance that is aimed at enabling formulation of policy…
Abstract
Purpose
This research seeks to explain how a national government becomes capable of constructing an account of its biodiversity performance that is aimed at enabling formulation of policy in pursuit of SDG 15: Life on Land.
Design/methodology/approach
The research examines a case study of the construction of the UK government's annual biodiversity report. The case is analysed to explain the process of framing a space in which the SDG-15 challenge of halting biodiversity loss is rendered calculable, such that the government can see and understand its own performance in relation to this challenge.
Findings
The construction of UK government's annual biodiversity report relies upon data collected through non-governmental conservation efforts, statistical expertise of a small project group within the government and a governmental structure that drives ongoing evolution of the indicators as actors strive to make these useful for policy formulation.
Originality/value
The analysis problematises the SDG approach to accounting for sustainable development, whereby performance indicators have been centrally agreed and universally imposed upon all signatory governments. The analysis suggests that capacity-building efforts for national governments may need to be broader than that envisaged by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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The overexploitation of resources has led to drastic negative impacts on biodiversity such as an overall increasing amount of infertile soil and overgrazed land. Environmentalists…
Abstract
The overexploitation of resources has led to drastic negative impacts on biodiversity such as an overall increasing amount of infertile soil and overgrazed land. Environmentalists have been noticing now more than ever that plants and trees around the world have seen their population numbers severely drop over the last century. Many species including enormous flocks of birds congregating in marshes, herds of Wildebeest, Zebra and Tomson's Gazelle, along with untamed Tigers, Elephants, Giraffes, and Rhinos, grazing the vast natural landscape of the African plains that make their natural homes are at major risk of becoming extinct. With many pressures on world ecosystems already impacting the environment, continuous growth and natural human development trajectory is one that we must find a way to reconcile with environmental sustainability. The best way to do so is by establishing sustainability through the preservation of biodiversity and the ecosystem services different aspects of biodiversity provide. Although sustainability and biodiversity are crucial to assuring a clean future for our planet, the COVID-19 Pandemic has had a negative effect on the needs for biodiversity research, protection, and policymaking. This chapter looks at two main examples of biodiversity loss (1) the Tragedy of the Commons and (2) Deforestation to provide potential policy solutions to combat impacts of the Tragedy of the Commons and Deforestation, especially while considering implications of the current COVID-19 pandemic on biodiversity supportive policies.
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This paper seeks to examine how the biodiversity comprising a tropical forest ecosystem is being protected as a result of having its conservation brought into financial accounting…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to examine how the biodiversity comprising a tropical forest ecosystem is being protected as a result of having its conservation brought into financial accounting calculations by constructing a greenhouse gas emissions offset product to sell on the voluntary over‐the‐counter carbon markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The research examines a single embedded case study of a biodiversity conservation project in Kenya. The resulting discussion builds upon the existing accounting and organisation studies literature regarding the construction of markets.
Findings
Whilst the case examined does successfully bring tropical forest biodiversity conservation into the financial accounting calculations of the sellers and buyers of the offset product, via processes of objectification and singularisation, there are considerable accounting obstacles to constructing a calculative mechanism capable of achieving this on a global scale to facilitate financing of the conservation of all the world's remaining tropical forest biodiversity.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the debate on accounting for biodiversity by examining market construction as a theoretical framework for turning the loss/conservation of biodiversity from an externality into an entity that is taken into account in organisations' calculations of profit and loss.
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