Bull J W, Taylor I, de Valença A, IJspeert R, van Erve B, Modernel P, Poore J A C
Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Wild Business Ltd, London, UK.
NPJ Biodivers. 2025 Aug 11;4(1):31. doi: 10.1038/s44185-025-00095-5.
Achieving the Global Biodiversity Framework will necessitate whole production systems contributing towards 'halting and reversing' net biodiversity loss, counterbalancing negative impacts with comparable gains. Here, we report on an illustrative quantitative exploration into the feasibility of monitoring for positive net biodiversity outcomes for the Dutch dairy production sector, using a composite metric. We analysed performance data from 8,950 dairy farms across the Netherlands, combining these data into an integrated biodiversity index. Usefully, this index allowed us to calculate sectoral baseline biodiversity impacts, and explore possible biodiversity strategies. We show that the largest overall source of impacts is imported feed; interestingly, nutrient loads contribute little to the footprint, despite representing an important political issue nationally. This highlights a general risk in using single indices to track net biodiversity outcomes: that they could result in an exclusionary focus, and perverse outcomes. Consequently, we develop safeguards to accompany the index; showing the necessity of incorporating safeguards, but also that meeting them could reduce sectoral biodiversity impacts by ~94%. Our proposed strategies vary in feasibility, all requiring trade-offs between biodiversity, land availability, and production.
要实现《全球生物多样性框架》，整个生产系统必须为“遏制并扭转”生物多样性净损失做出贡献，用同等程度的增益来抵消负面影响。在此，我们报告一项具有说明性的定量探索，该探索利用一个综合指标，探讨了监测荷兰乳制品生产部门生物多样性净正向成果的可行性。我们分析了荷兰8950个奶牛场的绩效数据，并将这些数据整合为一个综合生物多样性指数。该指数很有用，使我们能够计算该部门生物多样性影响的基线，并探索可能的生物多样性策略。我们表明，影响的最大总体来源是进口饲料；有趣的是，养分负荷对足迹的贡献很小，尽管在国家层面这是一个重要的政治问题。这凸显了使用单一指标来跟踪生物多样性净成果的一个普遍风险：它们可能导致排他性关注和适得其反的结果。因此，我们制定了与该指数配套的保障措施；这表明纳入保障措施的必要性，同时也表明满足这些措施可将该部门的生物多样性影响降低约94%。我们提出的策略在可行性方面各不相同，所有策略都需要在生物多样性、土地可用性和生产之间进行权衡。
