As a kid, I was fascinated by the "The Matrix" series, drawn to its innovative technology, thrilling action sequences, and dynamic cast, even though the central theme was too complex for me to connect with the real world at that time.
Fast forward to 20 years. Recently when I watched the trilogy again, apart from understanding the original concept behind "The Matrix" movie which depicts humans living in a simulated reality controlled by AI and machines in a dystopian future where the Earth's surface becomes uninhabitable for existence, the themes of our real-world biodiversity share intriguing parallels on grounds of ecological balance and the consequences of disrupting natural systems.
While the art of this Sci-fi movie "The Matrix" presents an extreme and fictional outcome, it serves as a metaphorical reminder of the potential consequences of neglecting our environmental impact. It underscores the importance of sustainable practices and proactive stewardship of the Earth to ensure that human societies do not reach a point of no return, similar to the catastrophic world depicted in the film. This scenario mirrors a cautionary tale about the severe repercussions of unsustainable practices compromising a balanced biodiversity.
The notion that advancements in AI and technology, coupled with rapid exploitation of natural resources and declining biodiversity, could lead to a scenario reminiscent of "The Matrix," is a compelling argument.
Bio-diversity is in the limelight. Why Now?
Biodiversity underpins all life on Earth. Healthy, diverse ecosystems like forests, wetlands, and oceans deliver critical ecosystem services such as air and water purification, climate regulation, and soil fertility. Biodiversity is essential for these ecosystem services that sustains life on Earth and it makes our ecosystem resilient through the ability to recover from disruptions, resist degradation, and adapt to changing conditions or abrupt shocks. This highlights the importance of recognizing and respecting the interconnectedness of systems to maintain balance and harmony.
Anthropogenic pressures on Earth have reached a scale where abrupt global environmental change can no longer be unaccounted for. The exponential growth of human activities is raising concern that any further pressure could destabilize the critical biophysical systems and cause abrupt or irreversible environmental changes that would be catastrophic for human well-being. The nine planetary boundaries identified here are Climate change, Ocean acidification, Stratospheric ozone depletion, Interference with the global biogeochemical cycles, Rate of biodiversity loss, Global freshwater use, Land-system change, Aerosol loading, Pollution. When each of these parameters crosses the safe boundary limits, directly or indirectly altering the Biosphere Integrity, it justifies a non-linear and largely irreversible consequences of large-scale biodiversity loss since 2009.
Essentially, these parameters in planetary boundaries contributes to the biggest threats of Earth’s Biodiversity such as the Land-system change, Climate change, Anthropocene interference in the Biogeochemical flows of nature through Pollution in the form of Chemical pollution, Ocean acidification & Global freshwater over-exploitation. According to WWF, a variety of Life on Earth has decreased significantly over the past few decades and following are the biggest threats to Earth’s Biodiversity:
Biodiversity loss over the last century has been significant and is primarily due to anthropogenic reasons which has in-turn impacted us through Ecosystem services degradation, Health implications owing to Loss of resilience to diseases & extreme weather conditions, Economic impact particularly in communities that directly depend on natural resources.
The 2024 Living Planet Index (LPI) update for Migratory Freshwater Fishes unveils a startling 81% decline in monitored populations of freshwater migratory fishes from 1970 to 2020.
Organizations Leading the Charge in Conservation Efforts
Speaking about protecting Biodiversity & conservation of nature, the organizations such as World Wildlife Fund (WWF), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Fauna & Flora International, Conservation International (CI) support various research projects, welfare schemes and conservation projects all over the world and also helps government to formulate various treaties between nations.
It is not the responsibility of just these global guardians to protect Biodiversity, but lies with each one of us and our businesses for maintaining ecological balance and promoting overall well-being.
The need for a Greener Ledger
Nature is now a strategic risk management issue – The accelerating Biodiversity loss is increasing the exposure of physical & transition risks to businesses as well as humans, as individual species. Thus, understanding ecological impacts of a business can safeguard it against the future regulatory, reputational, operational & climatic risks.
Biodiversity if integrated into Financial Decision-Making of businesses, will help businesses recognize the financial implications of the impacts and dependencies on the environment. This recognition is crucial in steering the global economy towards sustainability and resilience, acknowledging the indispensable value of biodiversity in maintaining the health of the planet and the well-being of human societies. It will play a significant role in helping to tackle environmental and biodiversity loss thus helping in transitioning towards an environmental positive future. TNFD which offers a framework for businesses, is pioneering efforts to make nature an integral part of financial reporting.
TNFD explains how a business contributes towards sustaining the very ecosystem that sustains it:
- By recognizing the impacts & dependencies of the business on the environment,
- By aligning the business strategies and governance structure with ecological goals,
- By assessing the risks and opportunities from the nature-related dependencies,
- By monitoring the impacts (both positive & negative) through assessment of key metrics and targets integrated with material nature-related dependencies.
GRESB assessments – Integrating Biodiversity into Real Estate Sustainability
The Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) framework includes several key indicators and metrics that address biodiversity conservation apart from other material issues. Some of the key indicators related to biodiversity conservation within the GRESB framework are:
- Presence of Policy on environmental issues like Biodiversity and habitat
- Address to Biodiversity and habitat in the ESG strategy during development of RE assets
- Assessment of Risks (environmental & social) as part of due diligence on the operational RE assets on parameters like Biodiversity and habitat
GRESB not only considers Biodiversity directly through the above 3 factors, it also integrates the requirement of sustainable land-use through biodiversity-centric site selection criteria in RE developments, as the Land-use change being the largest contributor to the loss of biodiversity.
Bending the curve upwards on biodiversity loss
As per the Living Planet report 2022, Scenario-based modelling is increasingly mobilized at the science-policy interface to identify plausible futures. It highlights the need to tackle human drivers (both direct & indirect) as a clear element of the required transformative change that needs deliberative action in-order to move from the current Status-quo scenarios with least actions (grey line) to nature positive society with integrated action portfolios (yellow line) through transition scenarios with transformative change through increased conservation efforts (green line)
Understanding the distinct demarcation between “What is to be sustained & What is to be developed” -helps the businesses, the communities & the nations, approach the sustainable development not as a destination, but as an on-going, adaptive learning process towards achieving SDGs for an overall well-being.
Exploring Safe Operating Space for Humanity by Unveiling The Matrix
The variety and variability of life forms within an ecosystem ensure its resilience and ability to adapt to changes or abrupt shocks. Thus, preserving biodiversity is essential not only for maintaining ecological balance but also for sustaining the ecosystem services that support human well-being and economic stability.
With the rate at which the resources are being exploited by us compromising the biodiversity coupled with the advancements of Technology, we are not very far away from making “The Matrix” a reality, unless we change our thoughts & actions!
This article was written by Swasthi Krithivasan, Head of Decarbonization & ESG at Conserve Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
