What is Biodiversity?

What is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity encompasses the variety of life at every level—genetic diversity within species, species diversity within ecosystems, and ecosystem diversity across landscapes. It includes the estimated 8.7 million species on Earth, the genetic variation within each species that enables adaptation, and the complex ecological relationships that sustain functioning ecosystems. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), ratified by 196 nations, defines biodiversity as the foundation of ecosystem services upon which human wellbeing depends.

Why It Matters

Biodiversity loss represents a systemic risk to the global economy. The World Economic Forum's 2024 Global Risks Report ranked biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse among the top five risks by severity over the next decade. More than half of global GDP—approximately $44 trillion—is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services, according to the Swiss Re Institute. Food production, water purification, climate regulation, and disease control all rely on functioning biodiversity.

The scale of loss is alarming. The Living Planet Report 2024 documented an average 73% decline in monitored wildlife populations since 1970. One million species face extinction within decades. Tropical forests—containing over half of all terrestrial species—continue to be cleared at approximately 10 million hectares annually. Coral reefs, which support 25% of marine species, face functional collapse in many regions due to warming and acidification.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted in December 2022, set ambitious targets including protecting 30% of land and ocean by 2030, restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems, and mobilizing $200 billion annually for biodiversity. These targets are driving national action plans and corporate accountability frameworks that make biodiversity performance a reporting requirement, not a voluntary add-on.

Financial regulators have noticed. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) published its recommendations in September 2023, providing a framework for organizations to assess and report nature-related risks and opportunities. The EU's CSRD requires biodiversity disclosures under ESRS E4. Companies ignoring biodiversity face regulatory non-compliance, supply chain disruption, and loss of social license to operate.

How It Works / Key Components

Biodiversity operates at three interconnected levels. Genetic diversity—the variety of genes within species—enables populations to adapt to environmental changes. Populations with low genetic diversity are vulnerable to disease, environmental shifts, and inbreeding depression. Conservation genetics helps manage this risk through habitat connectivity, population augmentation, and genetic rescue programs.

Species diversity—the variety of species within a community—drives ecosystem function. Research consistently shows that more diverse communities are more productive, more stable, and more resilient to disturbance. The loss of keystone species (those with disproportionate ecological influence) can trigger cascading effects: the extirpation of wolves from Yellowstone altered elk behavior, which changed vegetation patterns, which affected stream morphology and bird communities.

Ecosystem diversity—the variety of habitats, communities, and ecological processes across landscapes—provides the full range of services human societies depend on. Forests sequester carbon and regulate water cycles. Wetlands filter pollutants and buffer floods. Pollinators support 75% of food crop species. Coral reefs protect coastlines and support fisheries feeding hundreds of millions of people. Each ecosystem type contributes irreplaceable services.

Measuring biodiversity requires multiple approaches: species inventories, habitat mapping, genetic sampling (including environmental DNA), remote sensing, and ecological indicators. No single metric captures biodiversity's complexity. The Biodiversity Intactness Index, Mean Species Abundance, and Species Threat Abatement and Restoration metric each illuminate different dimensions. Corporate biodiversity assessment typically uses the TNFD's LEAP approach (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) to identify nature-related dependencies and impacts.

Council Fire's Approach

Council Fire helps organizations understand their biodiversity dependencies and impacts, assess nature-related risks using TNFD-aligned methodologies, and develop strategies that protect and restore biodiversity while maintaining operational performance. We bridge the gap between ecological science and corporate strategy, making biodiversity actionable at the board level.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should businesses care about biodiversity?

Because they depend on it. Agriculture depends on pollinators and soil organisms. Pharmaceuticals depend on genetic resources. Tourism depends on intact landscapes. Water-intensive industries depend on watershed health. Beyond direct dependencies, biodiversity loss creates regulatory risk, supply chain disruption, and reputational exposure that affect financial performance.

How do companies measure their impact on biodiversity?

Companies use frameworks like TNFD's LEAP approach and tools like the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT), ENCORE (for dependency mapping), and the Species Threat Abatement and Restoration metric. Site-level assessments, supply chain traceability, and environmental DNA monitoring provide data for corporate biodiversity accounting.

What is the 30x30 target?

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework's target to protect 30% of global land and ocean areas by 2030. As of 2024, approximately 17% of land and 8% of ocean is protected. Achieving 30x30 requires doubling terrestrial protection and nearly quadrupling marine protection within six years.