From Complexity to Clarity: A Scientific Approach to Measuring and Managing Nature Risk
We live on an incredibly beautiful and complex planet. From bioluminescent mushrooms that use light-emitting compounds to attract insects, to Alaskan kelp forests where sea otters find both protection and food among some of the highest diversity of plants and animals in an ocean community, there is no one way to describe the variety of life that exists on Earth.
For the scientific community, and the businesses that rely on it to help them understand biodiversity and nature risks and opportunities, this quandary exists as well: there is no single metric that can capture and measure all aspects of biodiversity. Given its many facets, what is the best way to measure and understand an organization’s impacts and dependencies on nature?
Bioluminescent mushrooms emitting a greenish light.
Image by user Alexey Sergeev (asergeev) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.
CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Biological diversity, or biodiversity, describes the variability in all living aspects of nature. It is an attribute of nature that facilitates nature’s resilience, adaptability to change, and productivity. Science recognizes three general levels of biodiversity: (1) functional characteristics of ecosystems, (2) species, and (3) genetic diversity within species (Figure 1). These factors are all important when assessing biodiversity and nature risk.
Figure 1. Components of biodiversity and example measurement indicators. Source: The Align Report
While assessing biodiversity and nature risk is a complicated undertaking, it is not an impossible one. To empower businesses with a holistic understanding of their biodiversity and nature risks and opportunities, we at Dunya Analytics, through our proprietary risk methodology, distill the abundance of disparate nature data into intuitive insights. We wrote this piece to shed light on this science of nature and biodiversity risk analysis–to show how, when performed comprehensively and transparently, it can be an accessible and powerful tool for organizations seeking to positively change their relationship with nature. The following sections detail key aspects of our approach.
Sea otters residing in a kelp forest.
Doug Knuth, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Our Approach: Science-Based Nature Risk Assessment
Our methodology is bottom-up. This means that all of the data we employ, which will be discussed subsequently, are used to identify an array of likely nature risks and opportunities for specific business sites and their associated operations. This is because nature risk is highly geospecific, both at the level of impacts (i.e., how the specific areas surrounding a business location are impacted, negatively or positively, by that business) and dependencies (i.e., the specific ways in which a particular business site relies on the surrounding nature, sometimes called “ecosystem services”).
We harness numerous datasets to explain the multiple dimensions of biodiversity at each business location. We collate, scientifically vet, and employ the best available global datasets to identify globally important biodiversity areas. These datasets align with major regulation and frameworks such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework. They also present a starting point for identifying areas that can help companies work towards nature-positive action. These actions can minimize business risk but can also make progress towards the goals laid out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, to combat biodiversity loss and mitigate climate change.
The datasets we utilize include areas important for biodiversity that are:
already under legal protection
ecosystems with high integrity
potential critical habitat for threatened species
locations with high species endemism (rich in unique species)
Assessing business locations for areas that are already under protection, as well as places that the scientific community has otherwise identified as important for global biodiversity, can highlight areas of both current and future potential business risk.
We center the locations of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities at the heart of our analysis. It is well established that Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, those with a deep, culturally-rooted connection to their land, often achieve greater conservation results and sustain more biodiversity on their lands as compared to other protected areas. Their Traditional Ecological Knowledge on living sustainably with nature is crucial for the continued conservation and restoration of nature. The global community cannot meet its nature-positive goals without partnering with and rooting action in Indigenous Peoples and Local Community knowledge. This is why we include a Community Presence Assessment on our platform – because we cannot engage in this work without learning from the communities that have been in deep, sustainable relationship with nature for millennia.
We examine the proximity of business locations to:
Indigenous Peoples and Local Community Lands
areas that provide vital ecosystem services, such as clean water and coastal risk reduction, to human populations, also referred to as Nature’s Contribution to People
When a business location is within proximity of Indigenous Peoples or Local Community Lands, it signals the opportunity to start or continue building a relationship with the community as part of any broader nature plan.
We employ our proprietary methodology to interpret what the data mean for our customers. With such a variety of data types, values, scores, thresholds and more, it can be difficult to know how to interpret any individual data point. We do this interpretation for our customers, by identifying and selecting rigorous, science-based criteria for each dataset. While all of nature is important, the scientific community has identified areas across the globe that are critical to stem major additional biodiversity loss and maintain provisioning of crucial ecosystem services for people, such as clean water. Our methodology enables users to delineate between locations that fall within these important areas and locations that do not.
We defend against greenwashing. We set rigorous criteria which users can opt to make more stringent, but not less. This helps ensure that when companies are taking their first steps for nature-positive action, decisions are rooted in meaningful, science-based results. We have also built in compliance and auditing capabilities, including providing full visibility into underlying data and our methodology.
We set the foundation and help prioritize areas for nature-positive action. Our platform empowers businesses to confidently initiate their journey to nature-positive action. It instantly quantifies nature risk and enables companies to prioritize where investments should be made. Not only does it provide actionable insights, but it saves our customers significant time and money so they can focus less on measurement and more on what matters to their business.
Figure 2. Dunya Analytics' comprehensive approach to supporting companies throughout their nature-positive journey, from initial assessment to action and reporting
Understanding your organization's relationship with nature doesn't have to be overwhelming. While biodiversity and nature risk are inherently complex, the right tools and partnerships can transform this complexity into actionable insights. Dunya Analytics' platform provides the scientific rigor and comprehensive analysis needed to begin your nature-positive journey with confidence.
The time for action is now. With increasing regulatory pressure, stakeholder expectations, and the urgent need to protect our planet's biodiversity, organizations cannot afford to delay understanding and addressing their nature risks and opportunities. Whether you're just beginning to explore your company's relationship with nature or looking to enhance your existing sustainability initiatives, we invite you to take the first step.
Ready to transform your approach to nature risk? Contact Dunya Analytics today to learn how our platform can help your organization navigate the path to nature-positive action while building resilience for tomorrow.
