Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BAMBOO (Biodiversity and trade: mitigating the impacts of non-food biomass global supply chains)
Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-02-29
The project’s main goals are to identify trade-offs between biodiversity impacts along global supply chains of non-food biomass and to determine leverage points for transformative change to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, both now and in the future. For this purpose, we develop new biodiversity impact assessment models, create a new, hybrid multiregional input-output (MRIO) model based on the well-known EXIOBASE and the biomass-specific FABIO models, and link the combined models to the integrated assessment model IMAGE for scenario generation. Apart from global assessments and recommendations, we showcase the applicability of our models in two local case studies of global relevance, fishmeal and fish oil production in Peru and cotton production in Tanzania, as well as two case studies with retailers.
Our project is unique in that we develop novel models to quantify biodiversity impacts using four indicators - species richness, mean species abundance, functional diversity, and ecosystem services - covering impacts across the terrestrial, freshwater, and marine realms. The hybrid MRIO model combines and extends existing physical and monetary MRIO models, allowing us to comprehensively track global flows of raw and processed non-food biomass in unprecedented detail. Using our system of coupled models, we assess the hotspots and leverage points of the non-food biomass economy and design future scenarios with mitigated impacts on ecosystems, identifying potential pathways for transformative change.
To facilitate transformative change towards protecting biodiversity, we develop an online tool that allows stakeholders to use all models easily. In general, our data will be freely available on Zenodo while safeguarding proprietary information from commercial partners. Overall, BAMBOO provides comprehensive and detailed knowledge of the effects of biomass trade from land and sea on biodiversity and ecosystem services and an improved way of identifying leverage points. This will ultimately contribute to better environmental decision-making by policymakers, retailers and other stakeholders, supporting the achievement of science-based targets and the SDGs.
Our project is unique in that we develop novel models to quantify biodiversity impacts using four indicators - species richness, mean species abundance, functional diversity, and ecosystem services - covering impacts across the terrestrial, freshwater, and marine realms. The hybrid MRIO model combines and extends existing physical and monetary MRIO models, allowing us to comprehensively track global flows of raw and processed non-food biomass in unprecedented detail. Using our system of coupled models, we assess the hotspots and leverage points of the non-food biomass economy and design future scenarios with mitigated impacts on ecosystems, identifying potential pathways for transformative change.
To facilitate transformative change towards protecting biodiversity, we develop an online tool that allows stakeholders to use all models easily. In general, our data will be freely available on Zenodo while safeguarding proprietary information from commercial partners. Overall, BAMBOO provides comprehensive and detailed knowledge of the effects of biomass trade from land and sea on biodiversity and ecosystem services and an improved way of identifying leverage points. This will ultimately contribute to better environmental decision-making by policymakers, retailers and other stakeholders, supporting the achievement of science-based targets and the SDGs.
The project is organized in 6 research-based work packages and one management WP, with 36 tasks in total. At the time of reporting 26 of these tasks are running or starting up, 10 will start later. No task was scheduled to be already finished. For more details on the work performed, see also the technical report part B.
Methodological development in WP1 and WP2 regarding life cycle impact assessment method is ongoing, albeit non are finished yet. We expect first preliminary factors in summer 2024, which will be summed up in Deliverable 1.1.
The expansion of FABIO is underway (WP3) and scenario development has started (WP4).
Through the Hop-on opportunity BAMBOO was expanded with SGS Portugal and they have started work with two additional case studies for IKEA and Zalando.
Methodological development in WP1 and WP2 regarding life cycle impact assessment method is ongoing, albeit non are finished yet. We expect first preliminary factors in summer 2024, which will be summed up in Deliverable 1.1.
The expansion of FABIO is underway (WP3) and scenario development has started (WP4).
Through the Hop-on opportunity BAMBOO was expanded with SGS Portugal and they have started work with two additional case studies for IKEA and Zalando.
First preliminary results for new CF models are expected in the summer.
Key needs to ensure good uptake after the project end are the integration into a consistent package of methods (which we do in Task 1.6) and a dialogue with software providers to facilitate an inclusion of the new models into their software. We have a dialogue with both Pré (SimaPro) and the Brightway developers and hope that the method will be integrated there. If that is the case, the availability of the project results for users would be greatly increasing. Uptake will, however, take some time, since many LCA practitioners prefer to use the standard methods they are used to, instead of new methods.
Key needs to ensure good uptake after the project end are the integration into a consistent package of methods (which we do in Task 1.6) and a dialogue with software providers to facilitate an inclusion of the new models into their software. We have a dialogue with both Pré (SimaPro) and the Brightway developers and hope that the method will be integrated there. If that is the case, the availability of the project results for users would be greatly increasing. Uptake will, however, take some time, since many LCA practitioners prefer to use the standard methods they are used to, instead of new methods.