5 minute read
WORKING TOWARDS A Nature positive future
Brett Summerell AM, Chief Scientist and Director Science, Education and Conservation, discusses the importance of nature repair, whether achieving a nature positive future is possible, and the role the Botanic Gardens plays in this vital effort.
A lot has been said about the concept of nature repair and how we, as a community, can live in a way that is more ‘nature positive’. This is being reflected in various legislations being proposed, developed and implemented at both a State and Federal level, and has been a focus at several international meetings throughout 2024.
At the Global Nature Positive Summit held in Sydney last October, the aim of the summit was to “accelerate collective action to drive investment in nature and strengthen activities to protect and repair our environment”. These are grand ambitions, although somewhat difficult to interpret and define. Nonetheless, there were good opportunities to interact with a range of different organisations, locally and globally, and highlight some of the programs that we currently have under way.
How do we define ‘nature positive’?
So what does ‘nature positive’ and ‘nature repair’ mean –and what is hoped to be achieved in response to these concepts? A nature positive approach should enhance biodiversity, fix carbon from the atmosphere, purify water and reduce pandemic risk. In short, it should enhance the resilience of our planet, ecosystems and societies. Unfortunately, there are no solid definitions of what nature repair looks like and there has been a tendency to focus on economically driven programs involving a nature repair market.
One policy that was adopted at COP16 (the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity) was an updated Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which is part of the Global Biodiversity Framework and, as the name implies, highlights the actions related to plant conservation that are needed to enhance biodiversity outcomes. The GSPC has guided the plant conservation activities of botanic gardens around the world since 2000 and is based around a number of themes ranging from documenting plant diversity, restoring ecosystems and educating the community about the importance of plants and conservation. The GSPC is a voluntary strategy and as such countries are not obligated to follow it. Unfortunately this can result in a reluctance to take serious steps to implement the actions outlined.
Key components of the Global Biodiversity Framework include the ‘30 by 30’ target – the protection and conservation of 30 per cent of the world’s land and 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030. Also included is a requirement that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity. The GSPC addresses how organisations like the Botanic Gardens of Sydney can respond to these challenges.
How the Botanic Gardens play a part
Our research and actions with respect to plant conservation have long been focused on naturepositive outcomes that lead to nature repair. This is predominantly with a focus on conserving plants in nature, understanding the underlying principles that define plant diversity and the evolutionary processes that lead to species arising, and providing scientific infrastructure (laboratories, nurseries and living and preserved collections) that are used for research and to document the diversity of plants. This is supported by a diversity of education programs that foster a love of plants, highlight the need to live sustainably, and have a strong commitment to consultation with our First Nations people and communities.
It is critical to address the biodiversity and climate crises if we wish to create meaningful impact, by reducing emissions while halting biodiversity losses. The key elements to repairing nature are to prevent further degradation by halting land clearing and removal of vegetation, addressing the processes that threaten species (weeds, diseases and climate change), and to restore ecosystems in a way that is sustainable and ensures they are resilient. This is easier said than done, especially in a short timeframe. Our role is to develop information, techniques and scientific knowledge to support these objectives. In recent years we have focused on accumulating knowledge and technology to support the restoration of ecosystems and recovery of threatened species. This ranges from programs documenting the diversity of species in ecosystems to high-level genomic understanding of species to ensure restoration results in genetically viable, climate-resilient populations.
We are focused on combining such programs with conservation horticultural activities. This allows us to use seed and propagation material we have collected at the Australian PlantBank, grow them in a way that complies with the biosecurity protocols developed at the PlantClinic and ensure the pedigree of the plants are confirmed by the team at Research Centre for Ecosystem Resilience (ReCER). To do this, we need to expand and enhance the nursery facilities at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan. A proposal for a nature restoration nursery has been developed and, if achieved, will allow us to ramp up our commitment to practically repair nature.
