We can do it again!

The Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) has set out, at the highest level, how the private sector needs to help protect and restore nature worldwide – but how do we act on it?

ANIMONDIAL was at the Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 in Montréal in December, where the GBF was agreed and announced. We were working with the biggest players in the international travel industry to help focus and co-ordinate the industry’s response to the ground-breaking call to action. And we were there when the World Travel & Tourism Council, the UN World Tourism Organisation and the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance announced their collaboration to advance Nature Positive Travel & Tourism and help the industry become a Guardian Of Nature.

What it means for business

So how is all this high-level policy action going to impact individual businesses? The GBF identifies three core areas: company reporting, value chains and mainstreaming. Expectations are clearly going to rise, particularly in ESG investment criteria and among customers and consumer groups, and regulations may not be far behind.

The T&T industry response

It won’t take long for this to become internalised within the industry itself, with agents, clients and suppliers looking to see how their partners are shaping up. Fortunately, the industry’s leading bodies are on board, meaning that support, resources and representation will be available for the transition.

We’ve done it before

Darrell Wade, Co-Founder and Chair of Intrepid Travel, gives a simple and impactful explanation of the challenge in an inspiring video clip from WTTC. Acknowledging that we need to look deeper at what nature protection means for our industry, he enthusiastically observes: “… we can do it – we’ve done it before, we’re doing it with climate change …”.

Learning lessons from carbon

This comparison has been made before, with the GBF often called the ‘Paris Agreement for Nature’. In fact, the international conventions on these two issues both originated in the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Back then they were acknowledged as parts of the same problem, so in many ways this is just a process of biodiversity catching up with climate change on the international agenda.

We can do it again

In 2015 the Paris Agreement seemed like an impossible challenge to many businesses. Now carbon accounting is a common part of business practice – mandatory for many companies and provided voluntarily by many more. So, we know that the challenge with biodiversity loss is one we can rise to.

Joining the mainstream

Fundamental to achieving this is ‘mainstreaming’ – bringing nature and biodiversity issues into decision-making in all business functions at all levels. This may seem like a huge task but, as we know, it gets easier and easier as you go along. The trick is knowing where to start.

We have the tools

One great place to start is the Toolbox Of Nature Positive Tourism Resources, published as an Annex to the WTTC Nature Positive Travel & Tourism report. Following the four-phase Nature Positive Tourism Roadmap (as seen on the ANIMONDIAL homepage) this provides a wealth of links, tips, sector-specific advice and deep-dives into the key issues. It also incorporates a handy glossary and a selection of case studies from our sector and further afield. With regular reviews and updates, the Toolbox is there for the whole industry to help make mainstreaming easy.

The support you need

  • Trying to assess your impacts and dependencies on nature but not sure where to start? The Toolkit has a framework to fill out, complete with SDG links (p4-5)
  • Want to understand more about the challenges and issues facing your sub-sector? The Toolkit has a table of sector priorities for all five drivers of biodiversity loss (p6-7)
  • Need to track the integration of the Nature Positive approach throughout your business? The Toolkit has a checklist with pointers to the relevant sections of the full report (p14-18)
  • Wondering what sectors like Consumer Goods are doing to incorporate nature protection into their supply chains? The Toolkit has insightful case studies with links to further information (p27-28)

Getting Up To Speed…