The Link Between Biodiversity Conservation and Carbon Sequestration

Avenues to mitigate a rapidly changing climate are central to minimizing the impacts these changes have on humanity and biodiversity. Naturebased solutions, such as the storage of carbon in appropriately managed ecosystems, are key to reaching carbon mitigation targets specified under the Paris Climate Agreement.

A range of ecosystems contains ‘irrecoverable carbon’ that, once lost, is not recoverable within a time frame that avoids dangerous climate impacts. As new geographic data emerges locating important carbon sequestration areas, there is immense potential to join these metrics with biodiversity metrics and provide clear decision-support for a range of stakeholders, including businesses, agencies, governments, and local communities. The Half-Earth Project is creating tools that link carbon data with biodiversity data to locate priority areas for biodiversity conservation and those for carbon sequestration, and we are expanding the Species Protection Index to create a combined Species and Carbon Protection Index that addresses a location’s holistic climate mitigation and biodiversity value.

“This is reimagining the way species conservation is done. Finding opportunities where we can partner with other global efforts will improve our ability to protect species now and combat climate change, which threatens the quality of habitat,” said Walter Jetz, Scientific Chair of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and of the environment at Yale University. This is just the beginning. The Half-Earth Project is exploring more ways to link biodiversity and climate solutions to create an exponential impact.

Half-Earth Project Indicator Adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity

The science of the Half-Earth Project is contributing to important conservation decisions in countries around the world. The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) convened governments from around the world to agree to a new set of goals for nature by 2030. To equitably measure progress towards these goals, indicators had to be identified. One primary indicator was selected—the percent of area protected within a country—and two secondary indicators, including the Species Protection Index, developed by Scientific Chair Walter Jetz for the Half-Earth Project Map. The Species Protection Index measures not only land protected, but the species residing within that land. This is a significant victory for protecting the diversity of life found in unique ecosystems from Iceland to the Samoan Islands.

Case Study

Half-Earth Project Helps DRC Community Protect Itombwe Nature Reserve and other Biodiversity Hotspots

The Half-Earth Project Map is supporting Volontaires des Pays des Grands Lacs (Friends of the Great Lakes Country) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo advocate for increased protection of the Itombwe mountains and rainforest. The group is using the map to demonstrate richness and abundance of species to inform community members about the unique species that live in the region and to make a case to the state government and international organizations for conservation assistance.