News

New insights into ecological impacts of supply chains

Widespread and well established trade networks spanning our globe allow consumption in one part of the world to cause biodiversity impacts elsewhere. In an historical moment of unprecedent pressure on the Earth’s resources, we need to understand the role of trade as a driver of impacts on biodiversity. Nevertheless, knowledge regarding the extent of these impacts is still scarce or limited, making it difficult to tackle the consequences of global trade on biodiversity.

BAMBOO

The Horizon Europe BAMBOO brings together experts from 8 organizations based in Europe, Africa and South America. The project goal is to address the above mentioned knowledge gaps, aiming to develop models to quantify biodiversity impacts caused by trade of non-food biomass. To do this, we will use four main indicators: species richness, mean species abundance, functional diversity and ecosystem services.

Patterns of global trade will be linked and evaluated in respect of such indicators, with the final output providing comprehensive knowledge of the effects of non-food biomass trade. Both impacts on land and sea biodiversity will be evaluated, as well as ecosystem services, allowing to identify possible leverage points.

BAMBOO and GLOBIO

During the project, the GLOBIO models will be updated and utilized to evaluate the impacts on 2 biodiversity indicators (mean species abundance, MSA, and ecosystem services).The team will first develop biodiversity impact factors. Then, the GLOBIO component focusing on ecosystem services, GLOBIO-ES, will be utilized, with a focus on regulating services (pest control, pollination, soil erosion protection and carbon sequestration). The team will also  develop impact factors for ecosystem services. These impact factors will allow to quantify the biodiversity and ecosystem services impacts on non-food biomass trade.

You can find more details on BAMBOO website, follow our LinkedIn page and Twitter to stay informed!