黑洞社区

We have been losing species at a rapid rate, making life for all organisms on Earth much more difficult. The world鈥檚 biodiversity intactness is estimated at about 75%, far below the 90% threshold scientists see as safe.

The climate and biodiversity emergencies must be at the top of the built environment agenda and while net zero has been making headlines, far less attention has been placed on biodiversity loss. Global biodiversity conference COP15, which is due to take place later this year in Montreal, Canada, aims to change that.

黑洞社区 magazine teamed up with engineering consultant Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, gathering a panel of experts to examine the issues and discuss potential solutions to this vast and complex problem. The discussion was chaired by 黑洞社区 group technical editor Thomas Lane.

How serious is biodiversity loss?

鈥淟ooking at the UK, it鈥檚 embarrassing,鈥� said Claire Wansbury, fellow and associate director of ecology at Atkins. 鈥淲hen you look at the statistics, we鈥檙e the most nature-poor country in the G7.鈥�

Jayne Manley, chief executive of environmental charity Earth Trust, made an interesting point about the time we鈥檙e living in: 鈥淚t鈥檚 called 鈥楢nthropocene鈥� for a reason.鈥� An unofficial era of geologic time, the Anthropocene describes the present period in Earth鈥檚 history, from when human activity began to have a significant impact on the planet鈥檚 climate and ecosystems.

鈥淲e鈥檝e created our Earth how it is now; we鈥檝e created the UK,鈥� Manley continued, 鈥渁nd we鈥檝e shaped and changed every part of it; every ecosystem has been impacted by humans. And it鈥檚 deteriorated so fundamentally that we鈥檙e completely out of sync with the ecosystems that we depend on.鈥�

There is not one singular cause of our biodiversity crisis. Big contributors include modern agriculture and built development, while in the background we are starting to see the impact of climate change. 鈥淓ven on quite a small scheme, you can have things like lighting creating a barrier to wildlife movement. It may be happening in a very localised way but it all adds up,鈥� said Wansbury.

Leigh Hughes, business growth and social value director at construction company Bouygues, believes 鈥渢he interdependencies of the built environment and building in the UK, alongside agriculture, transportation and industry, have collectively presented a picture where biodiversity is as big a challenge as decarbonisation鈥�.

Food security is another concern. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 look after biodiversity, we鈥檙e building one of our most significant food security issues,鈥� said Wansbury.

Michael Obersteiner, director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, couldn鈥檛 agree more: 鈥淭he best soils on Earth are now occupied by cities.鈥� When settlements were created, the sites selected were often those that were best for biodiversity. Destruction was a direct result.

Obersteiner shared Switzerland鈥檚 approach to net zero targets and the trade-off of 鈥渟oil points鈥� that allows different values (for biodiversity, water, soil quality, and so on) to be attached to different pockets of land. This deals with the problem holistically and 鈥渁llows for flexibility to reach targets鈥�.

Where best to build

Richard Weeks, technical director at affordable housing developer EDAROTH, believes it is important to think about where we develop. 鈥淲e鈥檝e set up the business primarily to deliver homes on brownfield land, publicly owned land that is underutilised and often not attractive to traditional developers,鈥� he said.

EDAROTH released a series of white papers investigating brownfield land in the UK and found that, for the 1.6 million households on a waiting list for a suitable home, there is a sufficient amount of developable brownland to potentially eradicate that list.

Brownfield land covers a broad scope, from land that is urban in nature and supports little biodiversity to sites that are overgrown and have developed into complex habitats. It might not be suitable for every project, but Weeks believes 鈥渢here is huge potential there.鈥� He added: 鈥淚n the UK, we undoubtedly have a biodiversity crisis, and a climate crisis, but we also have a major housing crisis 鈥� and we need to find solutions that address all three of those things, hand in hand.鈥�

More than one solution

Mike Hedges, director at Beard Construction, believes there are a number of ways to tackle the issue. 鈥淛ust like there鈥檚 not one cause for the biodiversity crisis that we鈥檙e in, there鈥檚 not one solution either,鈥� he said.

Hedges shared Earth Trust鈥檚 Earth Lab building as an example for designing with 鈥渢he environment at the very forefront鈥�. Earth Trust鈥檚 new learning building was cleverly designed with nature in mind, using natural materials such as straw insulation, glulam beams, rammed-earth walls and a wildflower roof. 鈥淎ll of those things can be utilised in most of the buildings that we see,鈥� he said.

Kai Liebetanz, senior sustainability adviser at the UK Green 黑洞社区 Council, said: 鈥淓ngaging with your supply chain would be the solution that I can see 鈥� and trying to quantify your reliance on biodiversity and nature and where globally you have an impact. It鈥檚 all interconnected. And the solutions need to be targeted.鈥�

Victoria Hutchinson, environment practice director at Atkins, believes that people have an important role to play. Funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Atkins鈥� Moldova project worked to rehabilitate the Bic river by opening it up into the centre of Chi葯in膬u, Moldova鈥檚 capital city. 鈥淭he work we鈥檝e done is a combination of climate resilience, reducing surface water flooding, improving biodiversity and the quality of the river water, and creating some amenity value.鈥�

She added: 鈥淧art of the delivery of that solution was about getting people to work together effectively. There鈥檚 an important case for getting multiple stakeholders with different expertise around the table.鈥�

It鈥檚 all in the planning

鈥淲e see an ever-increasing amount of questions around social value, operational net zero and embedded net zero,鈥� Hughes said. 鈥淏ut in the strategic development plans of local authorities, section 106, you see very little around biodiversity. Should there be a mandate in terms of solutions?鈥�

As the gateway to development, it seems obvious to address the biodiversity crisis through planning. 鈥淏ut the planning process is already a bit lethargic,鈥� said Weeks. 鈥淏iodiversity net gain is due to be enshrined in the planning process, quite rightly, but it will be done as quite a standalone thing. What the planning process lacks is a holistic view.鈥�

In the strategic development plans of local authorities, section 106, you see very little around biodiversity

Leigh Hughes, Bouygues

Obersteiner agreed. 鈥淚f you were to optimise four outcomes (biodiversity, human welfare, and so on), you can come up with 100 different examples that are almost equal in terms of their outcome.鈥� Typically, the planning process favours one solution, but what is needed is flexibility.

While many thought planning was not the answer, Hedges said he believes 鈥渋t could be鈥�. He explained: 鈥淏iodiversity is at the bottom end of what鈥檚 seemingly important to local authorities and it just needs to be elevated, with a much more integrated approach. It needs investment in planning teams.鈥�

Good design

Atkins recently worked alongside National Highways to replace a standard bridge with a heathland green bridge design. 鈥淲ith a green infrastructure approach,鈥� said Wansbury, 鈥渟uddenly you鈥檝e got something that鈥檚 delivering for wildlife, delivering for local communities, delivering for climate 鈥� it鈥檚 doing lots of things at the same time.鈥�

Hughes believes biophilic design 鈥� the concept of designing direct and indirect nature into our spaces 鈥� is something that should be explored further. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing biophilic design but only in large projects. Why aren鈥檛 we putting the principles of biophilic design into residential development?鈥�

All the panellists seemed to agree that good design has an important part to play. 鈥淕ood design doesn鈥檛 always have to come at an additional cost, although sometimes it does,鈥� said Weeks. But with 300,000 homes needed per year and the deficit only increasing, 鈥渟hould we further restrict the delivery of much-needed homes because we can鈥檛 solve every problem on every site?鈥�

Integrating ecosystems with the built environment, enabling deep connection between people and nature, creates a virtuous circle of mutual benefits for environmental and societal wellbeing 鈥� and is something Earth Trust keenly advocates.

鈥淲hen we talk about construction, we tend to focus on the buildings, but we also need to be thinking about planning in and constructing access to green space. And that needs to be an absolute given,鈥� said Manley.

Counting pennies

Hutchinson shared details of Mayfield Park in Manchester city centre, project managed by Faithful+Gould. The site will provide 1,500 new homes, alongside commercial, retail and leisure space. The park itself spans 6.5 acres and is home to a floodable meadow and wetlands. It is a project that benefits both people and nature, combined with an increase in the land value, which was a huge driver for Manchester city council and the developer.

鈥淚t鈥檚 unrealistic to think that high standards of regulation and legislation alone will drive biodiversity gain,鈥� said Hutchinson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also the combination of making a great economic case for development that will really foster good practice in the UK and abroad.鈥�

Liebetanz said: 鈥淲e need to be thinking about how to channel private finance into nature, and talking about the value holistically is definitely the way forward.鈥� Although he believes 鈥渢he person paying for the nature-based solutions is often not the person receiving the benefits, so there can be a disconnect鈥�.

UKGBC advocates for stakeholder benefits, listing the advantages of creating biodiversity and cross-checking that list with local stakeholders which could contribute financially. 鈥淚f you can make a monetary case, then you can hopefully channel a lot of private funding into that area,鈥� added Liebetanz.

It鈥檚 unrealistic to think that high standards of regulation and legislation alone will drive biodiversity gain

Victoria Hutchinson, Atkins

Hutchinson reflected on TCFD (Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) reporting, which she considers really powerful. Businesses, particularly large and publicly owned ones, are required to complete climate-related financial disclosures, lending some transparency on the climate-related risks that companies are facing.

There is also a Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures, whose work is at a much earlier stage. Atkins is on the forum, and Wansbury is pleased that they have 鈥渓ooked to the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and they are wanting to create something that takes the same approach so that it will be familiar鈥�.

Hedges believes that 鈥渙ne way of helping is through education and some clarity鈥�. His team have uncovered a number of different ways to measure their progress and feel one single way would be 鈥渕ost valuable鈥�.

Hedges added: 鈥淥ne way to encourage more responsible development is by offering mitigation on empty building rates based on the green credentials of the building.鈥� It could lead to developers being more inclined to take risks.

Obersteiner said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e in a new phase, pioneered by the carbon market, where we鈥檙e seeing more comprehensive economic approaches. Once we have more comprehensive planning, combined with economic instruments, then even the smaller-scale builders can participate.鈥�

Weeks pointed to offsite manufacturing as part of the solution. EDAROTH builds homes using offsite manufactured products, mainly due to the reduction of impact on site during the delivery phase, but how as well as where we develop is important, he said.

Looking forward

鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult when you have political decisions being made; it鈥檚 soundbite decisions of 鈥榳e can either have nature or we can have growth鈥� 鈥� it鈥檚 nonsense,鈥� said Wansbury. 鈥淚f we do not protect nature, we will not have economic growth.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e in the middle of a series of crises,鈥� said Manley. From the biodiversity crisis and climate crisis to the current housing crisis, as well the detrimental effects of not prioritising health and wellbeing. 鈥淭he current planning and incentives for us to address all these challenges through construction are not working, and it鈥檚 complicated. They are not joined up 鈥� and it鈥檚 probably because we鈥檙e all trying to find our way through this.鈥�

Manley went on to add: 鈥淚t鈥檚 the examples of what has worked, can work, when people think differently, that are really going to challenge us as we try and put a new jigsaw picture together.

鈥淚鈥檓 in awe of some of the projects we鈥檝e been describing today 鈥� because if we can show how challenging it is and get the policy-makers to think differently about their approach, then it鈥檚 going to be those stories that make a big difference.鈥�