Biodiversity is vital to our survival and our consumption habits are putting it at risk. How can the circular economy cope with the increasing loss of biodiversity and help us protect our planet?
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Biodiversity includes everything from animals and plants to fungi and bacteria forms the very fabric of our natural worldD. It supports everything we need to survive, from the food we eat to our water supply and medicines.
But we are losing biodiversity at an alarming rate, by any estimate 69% decrease in world populations of animals, birds and fish since the 1970s with over 90% of biodiversity loss It is believed that this is the result of the extraction and processing of natural resources.
move to a circular economy could help address this issue and completely reverse this loss. Here’s how.
The consequences of biodiversity loss for our planet
Biodiversity is the link between all organisms on earth, creating a vital and interdependent ecosystem on which communities and future generations depend. Every species on the planet has a role to play in biodiversity, meaning that a loss in biodiversity is likely to have a direct impact on the health of plants and animals, as well as humans. We all depend on the complexity of biodiversity to survive and many of our services depend on protecting biodiversity, from access to fish, meat and timber to clean air and water.
Humanity is currently consuming more natural resources than the planet can bear, putting immense pressure on species, habitats and communities on a global scale. The health of our planet affects us all and biodiversity underpins it, so we must take any loss seriously as it could mean millions of people face a bleak future limited access to food and water.
Read more about the topic here: 5 Concerning Effects of Biodiversity Loss
3 guiding principles of the circular economy
1. No product should become waste
This principle is based on the idea of continuously iterating through materials and products for new items, so that when an item is no longer used, it can be reused instead of becoming waste.
“Circular economy is directly involved in moving away from the overexploitation of natural resources in a ‘take-make-waste’ economy and towards circular systems in which waste and pollution are avoided and ultimately eliminated,” explains Rachel Thompson, Head of Sustainability at MPB.
2. Diversity = greater resilience
The more components a system has, the more robust it is. In nature, ecosystems are fully interconnected, but as humans we need to find ways to make our production processes more intertwined, such as B. a farm that produces a variety of foods when the production processes are already in place.
In the circular economy, this principle is known as cascading and it is the process of extracting as much as possible from materials such as B. making a garment out of cotton that can become upholstery for furniture when it can no longer be worn, and then into insulation material it is eventually digested anaerobically and returned to the soil. It thinks more innovatively about what the lifespan of a product looks like and how it can be used to maximize the usability of the materials for as long as possible.
3. Produce energy from renewable sources
From solar to wind power, we need to scale up renewable energies around the world to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, the largest contributor to carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and the main contributor to the climate crisis. Generating energy from waste is also a solution that is moving the world to a more circular way of working and helping us to reach net zero goals faster.
Accordingly ESWET, experts in sustainable waste management: “Improved and increased reusability, sorting and recycling processes will play an important role in promoting the circular economy. However, some residual waste streams that require safe treatment will remain and potentially increase worldwide. The only viable solution to treat this residual waste is state-of-the-art waste-to-energy plants that close the loop of the circular economy.”
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How will the circular economy help reduce biodiversity loss?
Manufacturing and production span a range of industries from food and clothing to transportation, technology and more. It is the biggest cause of biodiversity loss and food is the main sector responsible for it, with animal products having the greatest impact on the planet.
As much as half of the habitable land on earth is used for livestock feeding, with large tracts of forest being cleared to make more room for our food system. How we produce food has to change Regenerative Agriculture, which promotes healthier soils and sequesters CO2 from the atmosphere is an efficient way to produce better quality food and potentially reverse climate change. It will also help minimize our culture of overconsumption and Cut to waste.
The mainstream linear economy and our take-make-waste habits endanger nature and deplete the planet by emitting greenhouse gases and polluting our oceans microplastics and upset the delicate balance of the world’s natural systems.
Waste is ultimately a design flaw, which means we can make better use of what we have and reduce the need to keep buying new items. Likewise, all industries need to find ways to make better use of their waste so we don’t have to constantly look for new materials and resources. From companies like Winnowthat provides digital tools that chefs use to measure and design waste, to well-established brands like Patagonia doubling down on their output Repair and Reuse Schememore can be done to use items before they need to be discarded.
The circular economy is also one of the most effective solutions we have to combat pollution – an important one Threat to global biodiversity. Pollution not only leads to greenhouse gases and damage to the ozone layer, it can also increase invasive speciesthat exacerbate habitat degradation and climate change. While one problem can lead to another, moving to a circular economy can address all related issues at the source before further damage is done.
A circular economy provides us with a framework to reduce pollution, eliminate waste and regenerate nature and ecosystems. There are several circular economy approaches that we can take to support biodiversity and tackle problems at source. When the core principles of a circular economy are shared, we are able to rebuild biodiversity loss and create a healthier planet for the future.
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