Mistra BIOPATH reports
Stenseke, Marie. 2024. On IPBES´ framing of the values of Nature. Available for download here.
Publications in international
peer-reviewed journals
V.Elliot, K. Jonäll, M. Paaranen, J. Bebbington, G. Michelon. 2024. Biodiversity reporting: standardization, materiality, and assurance.. Available at Science Direct: Biodiversity reporting: standardization, materiality, and assurance - ScienceDirect
Y. Baeckström, J. Carlsson Hauff & V. Elliot. 2022. Wealthy individuals: Not to be overlooked when thinking ESG investment strategy. Journal of Financial Transformation, Capco Institute, vol. 56, pages 110-116.
D. Silvestro, S. Goria, B. Groom, T. Sterner & A. Antonelli. 2023. The 30 by 30 biodiversity commitment and financial disclosure: Metrics matter. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4594937 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4594937
Mistra BIOPATH Master theses
Biodiversity Impact Assessment of Logging Residue Removal (WP1)
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The negative impact on biodiversity from land use is attracting increasing attention. The urgent need to mitigate biodiversity loss calls for comprehensive methods to assess the biodiversity impact of products and services.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) represents a widely used tool to support decision making, but the inclusion of biodiversity impact in LCA remains under development. This master thesis uses LCA in an attempt support decision making concerning biodiversity impact related to the use of logging residues in southernmost Sweden.
The study adopts an LCA method based on the conditions for forest biodiversity to assess the biodiversity impact related to logging residue (tops and branches) removal. Through a literature review and interviews with five experts on forest ecology, the study identifies five pivotal components for sustaining regional forest biodiversity: old trees, a diversity of native species, high volumes of dead wood, limited acidity and heterogeneous structures. The first three components are subsequently translated to measurable management parameters. In turn, the parameters are combined to form a regionally specific biodiversity impact model. The model is applied in a case study involving the local energy producer Kraftringen and a sample of seven forest owners.
Ultimately, the biodiversity impact per kWh produced heat is calculated for the removal of logging residues from 12 separate forest plots. The results highlight that the biodiversity impact related to removing logging residues is dependent on the availability of other dead wood. Specifically, if high volumes of other dead wood are present, the biodiversity impact arising from the removal of logging residues decreases.
The study suggests that the biodiversity impact can be mitigated by limiting the area subjected to logging residue removal and preserving coarse branches of native trees in areas where little other dead wood is available. Through the study, retaining coarse logging residues from native tree species emerges as the most consistent approach to mitigate biodiversity impact related to logging residue removal. A key contribution from the work is the development of a quantitative framework to support decision making concerning the biodiversity impact of forest management activities. The developed model can serve as a practical tool for energy producers and forest owners aiming to assess the biodiversity impact related to logging residue removal in southernmost Sweden.
The study reveals significant challenges related to collecting reliable data on forest management parameters, which affects the comparability of the results. This underlines the need for standardised data collection methods. Recommendations for further development also include a more detailed differentiation between logging residues from different tree species, as well as an adaptation of the model to a larger spatial scale.
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The aim of the thesis was to analyse the relationship between business and biodiversity by mapping how businesses understand and work with biodiversity within their organisations, and what incentives or barriers are recognised. The findings showed that businesses understanding of biodiversity varies, and that they work with biodiversity in their own ways using official frameworks to a lesser extent.
Furthermore, the findings identify several incentives that encourages businesses to work with biodiversity but also many different barriers that can hinder progress.
Conclusions:
• Businesses understanding of biodiversity varies and there is a lack of knowledge. Although most businesses have a definition of biodiversity, it is not always clear how biodiversity relates to their businesses, as dependency and impact are defined to a lesser extent.
• Many official frameworks and tools exist that could be used to strategically work with biodiversity, but most businesses tend to use their own methods, focusing on implementing biodiversity related measures, using certifications and participating in trade associations.
o The Mitigation Hierarchy and the reporting standard GRI are the most commonly used frameworks among the participating businesses to guide the work with biodiversity. There is also interest in the upcoming frameworks TNFD and SBTN, which show potential in becoming standardised methods with their alignment between each other and to both GRI and ESRS.
o To set targets, businesses mainly use indicators that focuses on activities connected to biodiversity, such as having certain numbers of biodiversity measures implemented or shares of certified products. However, businesses struggle to assess the actual impact on biodiversity and follow up on efforts, as well as for targets connected to no net loss or net gain.
o Most businesses do not have any results yet connected to biodiversity, but the few that had used them to find hot spots and what to prioritise.
• Several incentives are recognised that motivate and encourages businesses to work with biodiversity. The most frequently mentioned incentives are customers and social acceptance, interest and internal drive from owners and management, and the demand from financial stakeholders and recent or upcoming regulation.
• Several barriers are recognised that can hinder businesses' work with biodiversity. The most frequently mentioned barriers are the lack of standardised methods to assess impact on biodiversity and follow up efforts, prioritisation, economy and the need for increased demand, lack of knowledge on what biodiversity means for businesses, and uncertainties of approach within the strategic work with biodiversity
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The aim of the thesis was to evaluate the impact on biodiversity at the species level due to the building materials wood and concrete. Three methods were utilised, a more classical LCA approach in using ReCiPe to assess impacts due to ‘Global warming’, ‘Pollution’ and ‘Land use’, and two separate methods to assess ‘Land use’ in more depth, one developed by Chaudhary and Brooks utilising the countryside species-area relationship together with land use intensities, and a method developed by Kuipers et al. that expanded on the countryside species-area relationship by including habitat fragmentation.
Using ReCiPe as a method of impact assessment includes looking at midpoint impact categories commonly used in LCA, such as global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential or water deprivation potential. The inclusion of such categories is relevant in the assessment of biodiversity impact due to the fact that they all affect biodiversity in different ways. The results showed that land use is the most contributing impact category for wood, and that water deprivation is the most contributing for concrete. This tells us that different materials affect biodiversity in different ways.
The land use category was included in all methods used and measured biodiversity impact on different levels of complexity. Land use is presented as the most pressing issue when it comes to biodiversity and is thus an important factor to consider. Different types, intensities, and geographical locations of land use practices all affect biodiversity in different ways.
Furthermore, individual taxa have different affinities to ecoregions and land use types and are thus affected differently depending on which type, how intense, and where the land use is located.
All three methods showed that the land use connected to the timber building led to a higher potential disappeared fraction of species compared to the land use connected to the concrete building. However, when factoring in the effects of pollution and global warming via the ReCiPe method, the results showed that the concrete building led to a higher potential disappeared fraction of species. Thus, using timber as the construction material would be the overall preferred material. However, the study only covers three out of five direct drivers behind biodiversity decline and only look at biodiversity damage at the species level. In light of this, it would be recommended to utilise several additional methods to capture the entire impact of the two materials.
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Biodiversity is the vast variety of all life on this planet and their interactions together in ecosystems. As the building sector is one of the top three sectors that threatens global biodiversity, the Swedish building company, Sveafastigheter, wants to address the impacts the building sector has on biodiversity by comparing two building materials to each other in a project called Wood vs. concrete.
The purpose of this study is to support the wood vs. concrete project by finding methods to assess biodiversity in the building sector, with the aim to develop tools for biodiversity assessment. The method used has been a literature search, with an integrated case study where Sveafastigheter was interviewed about the Wood vs. concrete project, as well as the indicators identified in this thesis project.
Over a hundred different indicators to assess biodiversity were found which were categorised into three different categories depending on how they were measured. The three different categories were (1) measured with the help of experts, (2) measured with the help of maps or datasets, and (3) measured in investments or reports.
A majority of the indicators could be found in category two which included indicators such as the Biodiversity Integrity Index (BII), threatened forest species and Ecosystem Integrity Index (EII). The results of the case study showed that the found indicators were too complex to aggregate into one and that choosing just one that can accurately represent the variety and intricate nature of biodiversity was too complicated.
No current policies, regulations or frameworks that target biodiversity specify what needs to be measured or how to measure biodiversity and the findings of this thesis project showed that there is a need for fast-paced development within this area. Taking this into consideration, five different internal Key Performance Indicators, KPIs, based on the indicator and methods findings, as well as future policy scenarios, were suggested to Sveafastigheter.
These internal KPIs would enhance transparency and demonstrate that Sveafastigheter actively engages in measuring something related to biodiversity. Measuring something means that there is at least a sense of direction of where biodiversity assessment and policies should be, and are, headed. The proposed internal KPIs establish a foundation which provides other companies within the building sector knowledge on where to start on their journey in assessing biodiversity impacts when choosing materials.
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Louise Albinsson
Mikaela Larsson
Ecovoltaics in Sweden: Views on integrating measures for biodiversity in solar parks(WP2)
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In line with the process of society converting to renewable energy sources and the increasing levels of electrification, solar power becomes a more important and prevalent energy source. One part of the development in Sweden is the growth in size and numbers of solar parks. Another issue facing humanity is the looming biodiversity crisis addressed in COP 15.
In Sweden the ground mounted solar parks might pose a risk to biodiversity, but also presents an opportunity with the implementation of ecovoltaics. Ecovoltaics is the dual land use principle of combining measures for biodiversity and solar power.
This study therefore aims to investigate how solar parks in Sweden utilize ecovoltaics in their design and what the industry needs to implement ecovoltaics more widely as well as investigating existing and potential incentives for increasing ecovoltaics in Sweden.
The methods utilized in this thesis were a literature search and an interview study, with the methodology of Systematic Text Condensation used to analyze the interviews.
The study reached the following conclusions: the use of ecovoltaics has grown in recent years, all interviewees reported the use of some measures, the most prominent categories being aiming to avoid, minimize or offset impacts on biodiversity.
The industry reported three actions as essential: the development of more research and best practices examples, clear and national regulations and a standardized measurement system for biodiversity.
There are no subsidies for ecovoltaics specifically. Further, it was found that there is an opportunity to align investor and landowner interests with biodiversity through the use of economic incentives.
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Investor Preference for Green Bonds: Empirical Evidence from China.
(WP2)
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To be published
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Master student Victoria Pehrsson has studied how the forestry industry in Sweden influences and takes responsibility for the preservation of biological diversity.
“In Sweden, the world's fourth largest wood exporter, forest conservation legislation is based on freedom with responsibility, which means that forest owners are expected to take personal responsibility for the consideration of the forest's various values. Criticism on the responsibility has, however, been leveled, especially regarding the conservation of biological diversity. Therefore, this study examines how different stakeholders are taking responsibility in the forestry value chain, with a focus on the conservation of biodiversity.”
In her thesis she examines the stakeholders’ point of view with regards to how they can ensure the safeguarding of biodiversity in the future. The results, based on 20 interviews with stakeholders, show that most of the responsibility lies with the forest owners and that certifications are used to verify the responsibility. However, the laws and regulations are vague, and the current certifications do not ensure sufficient protection of the biodiversity in forests.
Furthermore, Victoria Pehrsson finds in her thesis work that the responsibility for conservation of biodiversity in the value chain is complex and faces challenges regarding economic resources, lack of measurements, and conflicts of interests. The driving force to take responsibility is based on self-interest, future generations, the market, business strategy, and the economy.
She points out that other business models based on new measurements for biodiversity and regulations from the EU will be developed. These instruments will affect the entire value chain's responsibility, rather than just the forest industry, to ensure the needed conservation of biodiversity.
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This thesis studies the awareness of the Swedish financial sector on biodiversity and nature-related information by analyzing the external communication reports of firms listed on the NasdaqOMX stock exchange in Stockholm.
The reports are analyzed with the help of a checklist and a Python script. The checklist covers key topics, including the importance of biodiversity in sustainable development, and the need for transparent reporting on nature-related impacts and risks.
It addresses biodiversity conservation, threats, and the potential for biodiversity loss. To explain motivations for biodiversity-related information disclosure, a theoretical framework was built that is based on such theories as institutional, stakeholder, disclosure theories, legitimacy theory and accountability.
The findings signal that investors are more inclined to refer to biodiversity and nature-related impacts in their reports in order to comply with the institutional regulatory pressure, uphold their legitimacy in the market by fostering positive engagement with stakeholders, and manage their risk portfolio effectively.
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Specificity in Non-Financial Disclosure Regulated by Directive 2014/95/EU. (WP2)
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To be published
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K. Wirdéus and M. Frövenholt.
Forest industry responsibility for preserving biodiversity
(WP3)
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Master student Victoria Pehrsson has studied how the forestry industry in Sweden influences and takes responsibility for the preservation of biological diversity.
“In Sweden, the world's fourth largest wood exporter, forest conservation legislation is based on freedom with responsibility, which means that forest owners are expected to take personal responsibility for the consideration of the forest's various values. Criticism on the responsibility has, however, been leveled, especially regarding the conservation of biological diversity. Therefore, this study examines how different stakeholders are taking responsibility in the forestry value chain, with a focus on the conservation of biodiversity.”
In her thesis she examines the stakeholders’ point of view with regards to how they can ensure the safeguarding of biodiversity in the future. The results, based on 20 interviews with stakeholders, show that most of the responsibility lies with the forest owners and that certifications are used to verify the responsibility. However, the laws and regulations are vague, and the current certifications do not ensure sufficient protection of the biodiversity in forests.
Furthermore, Victoria Pehrsson finds in her thesis work that the responsibility for conservation of biodiversity in the value chain is complex and faces challenges regarding economic resources, lack of measurements, and conflicts of interests. The driving force to take responsibility is based on self-interest, future generations, the market, business strategy, and the economy.
She points out that other business models based on new measurements for biodiversity and regulations from the EU will be developed. These instruments will affect the entire value chain's responsibility, rather than just the forest industry, to ensure the needed conservation of biodiversity.
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Mistra BIOPATH Bachelor theses
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To clear-cut or not to clear-cut - that is the central question in the thesis of bachelor student Bella Blomqvist (Environmental studies, Lund University.
During an exchange programme in Australia, she became interested in issues related to biodiversity, land management and the courses and effects of disturbed ecosystems. She choose to focus on forests and forestry and especially the causes and effects of wildfires.
“Wildfires causes natural disturbances to ecosystems which can have potentially damaging results for ecosystem services and economic income from timber production. The post-fire management approach can be essential for the environmental work regarding the recovery of ecosystems and maintaining ecosystem services”.
The aim of Bella Blomqvist´s study was therefore to evaluate different post-fire management approaches of conventional forestry with clear-cutting, continuous cover forestry, and nature reserves with no management practice allowed, from an ecological, economic, and societal perspective. The focus area was the Ljusdal fire sites, from one of the worst wildfires in Sweden, in the summer of 2018.
To comprehensively address the outcomes of different post-fire management approaches, Bella Blomqvist conducted extensive cost-benefit analyses looking at the core-values; potential for carbon sequestration, economic income, and management costs, as well as societal stated preferences in willingness to pay for terrestrial recreation. Her results show that continuous cover forestry provided the highest net present value in the cost-benefit analysis, followed by converting to nature reserves and lastly the most common which is conventional forestry.
Continuous cover forestry provided the highest carbon sequestration potential long-term while the highest economic profit was obtained in the conventional forestry. Converting to nature reserve would provide the highest willingness to pay when the nature had adapted to nature-based forest characteristics.
The findings in the study suggest that a change in management regimes could be crucial for targeting climate change mitigation work related to wildfires. However, it also concludes that further research is required to obtain more accurate estimates regarding economic aspects and stated preferences to support the outcome of the results.
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In her thesis, bachelor student Moa Morency (Environmental sciences, Lund university) makes a socio-economic comparison of continuous cover forestry and clear-cut forestry with regards to the wood production and climate mitigation.
She has studied the most used forest management system in Sweden, the clearcutting system (CF) as well as the continuous cover forestry system (CCF) which is gaining in popularity and is being tested in several places. The knowledge of the benefits of this kind of system is limited and the aim of the study was to compare the forest management systems, CCF and CF from a societal perspective with regards to wood production and carbon sequestration. This was done through cost-benefit analysis (CBA), comparing the net present value, (NPV) of CCF and CF.
The study site was Djurholmen in Skåne that consists of 95 % Norway Spruce (Picea abies). In May 2023 a final cutting was done where the landowner, Stiftelsen Skånska landskap, decided to clear-cut one area and used target diameter-thinning in a second area. The CF got 8 % higher NPV than CCF although it is important to recognize that multiple ecosystem services such as biodiversity and recreational values, that have been proven higher for CCF in other studies, are not included in this study.
The main conclusion was that the most important factor for forestry to contribute with climate mitigation is to maximize the substitution effect by getting as much of the wood produced as possible to end up in long lived wood products rather than paper or pellets for burning.
Learnings and further studies
“As part of my studies in Environmental sciences I also took courses in micro and macro-economics, and I think that the transdisciplinary research approach in BIOPATH is very interesting. I want to understand how to integrate various kinds of values for decision-making and with the aim to safeguard and enhance biodiversity, although my further studies will be in the field of Public Health”, says Moa Morency. In her thesis she ends with an ethical reflection, here is an excerpt:
“When it comes to evaluating ecosystem services it sometimes takes the human health into account like with air quality, but it can also be about a dying species or ecosystem. To some degree it is dangerous to put a monetary value on those kinds of things because they can arguable be invaluable for us and our species existence but to make a change in our capitalist society, money is the main comparative variable for decision making. This study will only put the monetary value on the ecosystem services for the purpose of comparing it to other as a way of making better decisions.”
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In her bachelor thesis “Balancing Nature and Wealth”, Emma Bengtsson, Environmental studies, Lund University, studied the effects on forestry stemming from the revised Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry regulation. The question was how reduced logging, which is in line with the new regulation, affects social welfare when incorporating the benefits of ecosystem services.
She carried out a socio-economic analysis of decreased logging by estimating the monetary value of lost income as well as carbon storage, recreation, water, and non-wood products. The results showed a long-term positive effect from decreased logging. This was mainly due to the tree's long-term carbon-storing possibility. However, the first twenty-five years show a negative social benefit, and to benefit from the positive effects trees must be set aside for a minimum of twenty years.
The thesis looked at a short period of decreased logging and compared it to long-term benefits. Continuing to set aside forests for nature conservation will motivate further costs which will alter the result of the analysis. Forestry is a big industry in Sweden, and thus it affects much more than just the national income.
Involving the value of nature in political decision-making
This thesis can be used to understand the significance of valuing our nature. To be able to implement welfare investments that are sustainable for both society and the environment, all parts must be included in the economic analysis. Emma Bengtsson argues that future studies should focus on improving the methodology and exploring how more or different ecosystem services can change the economic value of an investment.
“In the future, understanding how to communicate these types of results to decision-makers is fundamental to implementing a sustainable decision-making process and should also be studied further”.
In her thesis, Emma Bengtsson aimed to understand how ecological and environmental non-market values can affect a socio-economic analysis of reduced logging. She found that it positively affects the socio-economic analysis and reduces costs immensely. From a long-term perspective, it even shows a positive result. However, there are great costs associated with this type of investment and it affects much more than national income. This, alongside the fact that a positive return is visible after thirty years, suggests that this type of investment should be evaluated thoroughly before being finalized.
To fully understand the effect of decreased logging or any similar investment it is also important to include all affected parties. Involving the value of nature in political decision-making is important to be able to prioritize a sustainable use of resources and for our future. Therefore, this is interesting since it could potentially, in the long term, contribute to a shift in the paradigm where environmental benefits are recognized as highly as economic benefits. However, the thesis has also shown that there is a need for further development regarding the valuation of ecosystem services. Before this shift can become a reality, it is necessary to find established and reliable methods to evaluate nature’s services.
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The potential of sustainability certifications in promoting biodiversity
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The purpose of this study is to investigate how and to what extent four different sustainability certifications set standards for conserving or promoting biodiversity.
This is of importance since there are a large number of certifications of different kinds on the market and as a consumer it can be difficult to navigate among these. How these certifications favor biodiversity is important to investigate since we currently are in a state where biodiversity is declining at a fast rate, and a large contributing factor to this decline is agriculture and forestry.
The criteria set by the Swedish certifications KRAV, Svenskt Sigill, Bra miljöval and Svanen was compared to a benchmark standard for biodiversity, developed by Englund and Berndes (2016) from principles set by the Society for Conservation Biology for conserving and restoring biodiversity.
The results from this comparison, how well the certifications score in the potential of conserving or benefitting biodiversity, are then discussed in relation to a growing world and what role sustainability certifications play in this. The study found that the certifications had criteria that benefit biodiversity, although these could be improved.
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