Equivalent biodiversity area: A novel metric for No Net Loss success in Brazil's changing biomes

Abstract

This study presents a new method to incorporate the No Net Loss (NNL) principle within corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks. This principle aims to ensure that biodiversity losses from human activities are fully offset. In this context, we tackle two main challenges: managing epistemic uncertainties in environmental modeling and accurately assessing compensatory areas needed to replace lost habitats. Focusing on Brazil's diverse biomes, which are undergoing rapid changes, we highlight the role of expert opinion surveys in addressing the uncertainties of the InVEST Habitat Quality, a model that simulates changes in landscape integrity under different land use scenarios. Our analysis across three of Brazil's regions - Caatinga Semi-arid, Cerrado Savanna, and Atlantic Forest - leverages open-source data to reveal substantial habitat losses due to activities like wind farm development, mining, and intensive agriculture, leading to a widespread decline in habitat quality. We introduce the Equivalent Biodiversity Area (EBA) metric to support NNL and Net Gain of Biodiversity efforts, measured in hectares. Findings show a reduction in EBA across all studied areas, highlighting the need for effective compensation strategies. Such strategies should merge Legal Reserves and ecological restoration into ESG policies, encourage landholder collaboration, and align with larger environmental efforts, such as watershed revitalization and Biodiversity Credits markets.

Keywords: Equivalent biodiversity area; Habitat quality; Land use change; Model uncertainty; No Net Loss of biodiversity.