From 25-26 February in Johannesburg, South Africa the first indaba was held by the National Biodiversity & Business Network (NBBN).
It discussed ways of mainstreaming biodiversity into business and looked at what is already being done as well as what should be done moving forward. The NBBN was established by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), in collaboration with founding partners, including the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), Nedbank Limited, Hatch Goba, De Beers, Transnet, Pam Golding Properties and Pick n Pay. The Network engages with various business sectors and related stakeholders with the aim of facilitating the mainstreaming of biodiversity into business and the development of a national agenda.
WEF Global Risks report puts water security at the top of the global risk agenda. Ecosystem decline is also a major risk.
Stakeholder relationship management was a key area of discussion and must benefit BOTH parties: how can we work together (e.g. public vs private private) to enhance value. Key themes that came out are the need for: – Capacity-building (of business, of public) – Partnerships – Leadership – Using existing tools