Until today, biodiversity loss and its impacts on humanity remain critical global issues. Addressing these pressing concerns requires urgent actions and effective governance to facilitate coordinated efforts across various sectors of society, emphasizing that biodiversity conservation is a shared global concern. However, efforts toward biodiversity conservation have, for the most part, been siloed and independent. The nexus approach, which emerged in the early 1980s, has evolved into a versatile tool for integrating systems, a platform for engaging stakeholders, and a method for exploring development pathways that consider the drivers and impacts of social and environmental changes, including climate change. This approach acknowledges the interdependencies between sectors/systems, providing a promising framework for biodiversity conservation. The importance of the nexus approach is increasingly recognized in the field of biodiversity conservation. Recent studies have shown a specific focus on “biodiversity” and “ecosystems” as nexus components. In 2018, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, in partnership with the UNESCO-Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme, initiated a project centered on the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus. Currently, the IPBES is conducting a global nexus assessment that focuses on biodiversity, water, food and health (https://www.ipbes.net/nexus). As biodiversity conservation policies become rich and diverse, the need for effective coordination across sectors has increased, underscoring the critical need for a nexus approach to biodiversity conservation.
Some Key Considerations for Implementing the Nexus Approach in Biodiversity Conservation Research and Practice
Year: 2024
