Introduction
The UN established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 to serve as a global action for leaders to preserve humanity (Sustainable Development and Goals, 2015). They address people’s social, poverty, and environmental needs in developed and third-world countries. SDG 14 represents Life Below Water, which entails preserving marine life, seas, and oceans since they are all essential to human life (14-Life Below water, 2015). All water bodies support the world’s climatic system and economic needs. Similarly, SDG 15 represents the conservation of all Life on Land, including forests, terrestrial ecosystems, and land (15- Life on Land, 2015). Failure to preserve biodiversity leads to environmental degradation. Organizations must account for and report on biodiversity to help achieve SDG 14 and SDG 15. This essay explores the extent to which SDG 14 and SDG 15 are interlinked, evaluates the extent to which organizations account and report for biodiversity to help achieve SDG 14 and 15, and shows examples of organizations participating in biodiversity accounting.
The interlink between SGD 14 and SDG 15
SDG 14 and SDG 15 are interconnected because they represent marine life, waterbodies, land, vegetation, animals, and human beings. The failure to safeguard and sustainably manage forests and mitigate deforestation, as stipulated by SDG 14, may negatively impact marine life (Our World in Data team, 2023). Some marine life depend on the mangrove forests as their habitats. Additionally, conserving marine past pollution protects marine life. This starts by reducing pollution in the rivers that drain water into the oceans. Deforestation may also lead to soil erosion in the areas close to the water bodies, destroying biodiversity and marine habitat.
The challenges of protecting the oceans, rivers, and seas affect land life. For instance, overfishing or unregulated fishing leads to the loss of marine life in the oceans. The problem with overfishing is that people might be satisfied today but deplete the fish for future generations (Ritchie and Roser, 2021). It also disrupts marine and land animals’ food sources, including humans. Additionally, overfishing contributes to reducing fish farming, particularly for small-scale farmers. This implies that neglecting one action on land negatively impacts the oceans, rivers, and marine life. Combined efforts are required to protect the environment and those relying on them.
The extent to which organizations account and report for biodiversity to help in achieving SDG 14 and 15
Accounting and reporting practices for biodiversity are essential for showing how much the organization relies on land and marine elements. Globally, there is a risk of biodiversity loss; therefore, accounting for it plays a vital role in addressing this challenge (Cuckston, 2018). Organizations need to assess this issue by involving relevant stakeholders in the responsibility of biodiversity accountability (Laine et al., 2022). This section looks at the current practices of biodiversity accounting and reporting and how biodiversity accounting contributes to SDGs 14 and 15.
There are two main approaches that involve biodiversity reporting, as Cuckston (2018) suggested. The first approach is biodiversity reporting, which entails an anthropocentric point of view, which views biodiversity as natural resources that enable the company to increase its revenues. Research shows that this approach is already being implemented by most companies in Britain, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, and mining companies (Cukston, 2018). The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and accounting firms encourage biodiversity reporting through this approach. Additionally, biodiversity reporting also involves an ecocentric type of thinking where organizations are encouraged to understand the almost extinct species and how this can be prevented. Generally, biodiversity reporting proves that it has taken the most essential steps towards mitigating biodiversity loss.
The second approach focuses on conservation procedures instead of biodiversity reporting alone. This approach takes into account several accounting organizations that influence the conservation of biodiversity. Conservation organizations also have accounting procedures that are often undermined (Cukston, 2018). Their activities may match the business objectives of other companies. Again, the decisions made by these organizations regarding resource allocation influence how biodiversity is protected in other organizations. This analysis also involves the study of market mechanisms that shape the company’s conservation practices. These mechanisms include eco-label certifications and the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), which fund conservation practices (Cukston, 2018). Another conservation procedure involves considering conservation as an activity that protects social-ecological systems and how accounting contributes to the systems. For instance, an evaluation of the management of the ecosystem can be used to analyze how the Natural Capital Project is used in resource allocation. This approach integrates insights from organizations, ecological systems, and resource allocation to understand the conservation of biodiversity and its accounting practice.
However, the two approaches introduce several limitations that may hinder their effectiveness. According to Cukston (2018), biodiversity accounting raises concerns over the practicality of implementing biodiversity reporting in organizations. Corporates majorly report on short-term financial programs instead of long-term conservation actions. The fact that there are no standardized procedures for reporting further implicates the challenges of biodiversity accounting (Laine et al., 2022). This shows that there is a need to develop a standardized method of biodiversity accounting to ensure the accuracy of data and the protection of marine and land life and resources.
When organizations integrate biodiversity accounting into their systems, they contribute to achieving SDGs 14 and 15. SDG 14 entails sustainable use of oceans, seas, rivers, and marine life, while SDG 15 conserves all vegetation, terrestrial land, and animals. Biodiversity accounting is vital for providing data and insights about how organizations track SDG targets without evaluating the level at which they have used them as revenue resources (Cukston, 2018). Laine et al. (2022) suggest a top-down approach that observes these changes through legislative frameworks such as government directives and bottom-up approaches that involve observations from the local community to track environmental changes and natural resources. Organizations gain data on species distribution and conservation protocols’ effectiveness through these approaches. Such analysis enables the organization to take active measures to reduce biodiversity loss. Publicly reporting information related to biodiversity shows that the company is willing to be at the forefront of sustainability in regard to SDGs 14 and 15.
The widespread understanding of the importance of biodiversity accounting is becoming rampant in many organizations’ efforts to achieve SDGs 14 and 15. For instance, the food instruct or agricultural companies conduct biodiversity assessments to understand how their operations impact the ecosystems (Laine et al., 2022). Businesses may also report on the supply chain measures that integrate biodiversity conservation measures. They may also look for avenues that provide them with opportunities to conserve biodiversity. Large mining companies are also taking similar actions that account for the extent to which their activities are environmental risks while adhering to the regulatory frameworks.
International legislative agencies and administrative functions also have a role in promoting the conservation of biodiversity to achieve SDG 14 and 15. For instance, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) offers a detailed guideline for biodiversity conservation and how to account for and report on it (Laine et al., 2022). Another example is the United Nations Sustainable Developmental Goals, which highlight annual track reports that target marine life conservation and terrestrial ecosystems and formulate tracking measures that indicate how biodiversity is being conserved over time.
Case Studies
Organizations have different approaches to biodiversity accounting. One practical example of such an NGO organization is the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). WWF is well-known for its biodiversity accounting strategy with information regarding natural resource management (Laine et al., 2022). The organization has various programs that help report and account for biodiversity. WWF uses the bottom-up approach to collaborate with the local community to enhance the observation of natural resources and how to avoid their depletion. The organization also collaborates with the government and other legislative frameworks to adhere to environmental conservation protocols. The areas that the organization has touched on include marine life conservation and restoring forestation, which is in line with SDGs 14 and 15.
The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) also has biodiversity accounting measures that enable the preservation of biodiversity globally. UNEP facilitates the preservation of SDG 14 and SDG 15 by assisting nations in tracking biodiversity through strategic plans. By conducting such measures, it shows that the organization is at the forefront of enhancing sustainability and the achievement of these goals (Laine et al., 2022). As nations cooperate towards these guidelines of safeguarding biodiversity, peaceful agendas between nations are fostered. The collaboration of UNEP and other nations generally contributes to the restoration and protection of biodiversity.
In conclusion, biodiversity accounting and reporting plays a significant role in the achievement of SDGs 14 and 15. Biodiversity accounting is essential for gaining data and insights that are related to the nature of the natural land, species, and how conservation measures are being implemented. SDGs 14 and 15 are interconnected because actions such as deforestation and unregulated fishing affect the life below water, the life of land, soil, forests, and human beings. The two main approaches of biodiversity accounting involve biodiversity reporting and conservation procedures that are related to accounting, like market mechanisms, conservation organizations, and socio-ecological systems. UNEP and WWF are examples of organizations that practically have biodiversity accounting procedures. Therefore, biodiversity preservation calls for integrated actions from relevant stakeholders to preserve natural resources for humanity.
Reference List
14-Life Below Water (2015) United Nations. Available at: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/oceans/.
15- Life on Land (2015) United Nations. Available at: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/biodiversity/.
Cuckston, T. (2018) ‘Making Accounting for Biodiversity Research a Force for Conservation,’ Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, 38:3, pp. 218-226
Laine, M., Tregidga, H., and Unerman, I. (2022) Sustainability Accounting and Accountability. 3rd Edn. London: Routledge.
Our World in Data team (2023) sustainably manages forests, combats desertification, halts and reverses land degradation, and halts biodiversity loss. Our World in Data. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/sdgs/life-on-land#article-citation.
Ritchie, H. and Roser, M. (2021) Fish and Overfishing, Our World in Data. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/fish-and-overfishing.
Sustainable Development Goals (2015) United Nations. Available at: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/12/launch-of-new-sustainable-development-agenda-to-guide-development-actions-for-the-next-15-years/.
Appendix
For this assignment, I did not use AI for the following reasons:
- I do not trust the information generated by AI tools. This is because it is generated from similar existing data without being backed by references. It also summarizes data from other people’s papers. Research data requires proof from other resources.
- I also feel like using AI is tantamount to cheating. The university heavily punishes the use of AI, so I choose not to use it. The university can easily detect AI-generated content.
- Researching on my own encourages me to learn new things. AI is a shortcut that can prohibit this advantage of manual research.
write