Mapping Risk And Sensitivity: Partnerships To Develop Early Screening Tools

Abstract The loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services has serious consequences for society, as well as to business actives. While there have been significant advances in the development of policies to incorporate biodiversity issues in a company's activities, reliable and accessible data on the distribution of biodiversity and ecosystem services can be a major hindrance to a company's ability to implement and conform to such policies. The development of biodiversity tools for use by the private sector is therefore of high importance to facilitate this transition from policy to performance. Key to this development is the role of cross-sectoral partnerships between the environmental and business sectors that have proved to be mutually beneficial in achieving sustainable, environmentally sound and lucrative business practices. Proteus is a partnership between oil and gas, mining and technology companies and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). Its goal is to make biodiversity and ecosystem information available to support decision-making. Proteus’ most significant achievements have been the compilation of global biodiversity data and the development of tools to aid accessibility by a range of sectors, including business. These include the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT). Proteus was also instrumental in the compilation of critical coastal and marine ecosystem datasets, which asupport the marine extension of the Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES); a new web-based tool for ecosystem services assessment, planning, and valuation of areas that are needed in order to maintain the interconnections between ecosystems and ensure their full functionality. The development of new tools in the context of the partnership can help with sharing of expertise to build purposeful tools that address real world needs. Continued efforts to develop strong and productive partnerships, will enable further development of tools and information sources that can address the growing challenge of safeguarding the environment and the services that it provides for economic and social development alike. Understanding the internal and external, as well as the technical and institutional challenges and opportunities of the partnership provides a useful case-study to other organizations considering the development of online tools to address global socio-environmental challenges.