Diclofenac, a livestock painkiller, became widely available after patent expiration in 1994 in India. Vultures were poisoned by the drug. Populations declined by 95% in under a decade.

The decline of vultures in India is the fastest ever recorded for a bird species and the largest since the passenger pigeon’s extinction in the US, according to researchers.

Human Death rates increased by 4% in areas with historically large vulture populations, this equated to 500k deaths over 5 years.

The economic impact was estimated at $69 billion per year due to premature deaths and increased healthcare costs.

 Since the 2006 ban on veterinary use of diclofenac, the decline has slowed in some areas, but at least three species have suffered long-term losses of 91-98%

The study highlights the often-overlooked importance of biodiversity. It also emphasises the need for immediate conservation action and reevaluation of seemingly unimportant species.

Vulture conservation is crucial worldwide. Four vulture species are now critically endangered in India. Similar declines could have devastating effects in other regions.

Big business: Purina PetCare Europe has become the first consumer goods business to join a new collaboration aimed at restoring marine habitats at scale in the oceans around Norway.

Big business: Measures such as ‘fish hotels’ and artificial reefs should be incorporated into the design of offshore wind farms to provide marine life with habitats for shelter, feeding and spawning. According to a new report released by the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council

Big business: Only 5% of large businesses globally assess and disclose how their operations impact nature and fewer than one in five provide any numerical evidence that they are reducing plastic waste according to the World Benchmarking Alliance

Finance:  Brazilian startup to issue first biodiversity credits for endangered plants in 2025

Finance: A Germany-based investment vehicle is piloting its biodiversity credit methodology for endangered species within a reserve in South Africa, in a bid to increase investors’ appetite towards habitat conservation in the area - CarbonPulse

Finance: Acknowledging the vital role that banks can have in safeguarding and restoring nature and our environment, the global sustainability academy for bankers – has launched a new nature course, “Applying Nature-Responsible Banking “.

Policy: The Sri Lankan government has launched a programme to conserve 30% of the country’s land and ocean by 2030 while aiming to attract $1.5 billion in green investments between 2025 and 2030.

Policy: Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rose in July, breaking a 15-month streak of falling destruction under President Luiz Inacio da Silva, preliminary government data showed amid a strike by environmental workers.

Big business: The Polish climate ministry and mining companies are working on a plan to build desalination installations to improve the quality of water in the Oder and avoid a repeat of a mass fish die-off in the river, deputy climate minister.

Opinion: To cool the planet, regenerative agriculture 'has to come as standard’

Policy: ‘Losing Noah’s Ark’: Brazil’s plan to turn the Pantanal into waterway threatens world’s biggest wetland.  Plans are under way for the Paraguay River, one of the Pantanal’s main arteries, to be turned into an industrial shipping route for crops such as soya beans and sugar.

Aprisium, A Singapore based startup, raised US$7 Million in Seed funding to Deliver Real-time Contaminant Detection with biodiversity co-benefits 

Growlink, a Denver, CO-based controlled environment agriculture (CEA) provider of advanced IoT controllers, sensors, and cultivation software, raised $2M in Seed funding.

26 August - 14th European Conference on Ecological Restoration - Estonia

1 September - The African Bioacoustics Conference - Cape Town

26 Sept - NetworkNature Annual Event 2024 | Busting myths - Virtual

30 September - Nature for Life Hub 2024 - Virtual

8 October - The Global Nature Positive Summit 2024 - Sydney

Oct 24 - Bloom - Colombia