Spotted: Many efforts at nature restoration are focused on regions like the Amazon rainforest. But according to German organisation Artenglück, for those living in Europe, there is much conservation work to be done closer to home.
Wildflower meadows, for example, are important habitats that provide food and refuge for pollinators and other insects, while supporting birds, bats, and mammals. However, they face challenges. For example, in 2021, Germany was referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union by the EU Commission for failing to sufficiently protect flower-rich grasslands in protected sites.
To provide a boost for nature, Artenglück creates meadows and other habitats that can be adopted by individuals and companies. The organisation provides bespoke conservation habitats within 30 kilometres of a desired location, working with farmers and foresters to plant and maintain perennial flowering meadows, mixed forests, and habitats specifically tailored to field bird species.
Companies and individuals can choose from wildflower habitats of 30, 60, or 100 square metres. Forest habitat spaces are also available in various sizes, and for birds that nest in agricultural fields, Artenglück provides small corridors of plantings that enable the adult birds to take off and land to access their nests. Importantly, the wildflower meadows are placed on marginal land so as not to compete with food production.
Artenglück’s service is available across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and the company works with organisations interested in creating ecologically healthy plantings on corporate private land.
Other innovations in Springwise’s library working to conserve and regenerate the world’s biodiversity include regenerative grazing techniques and funding indigenous forest stewardship.
New planning legislation that aims to boost biodiversity in development projects will come into effect in England in January. Here, Dezeen explains what architects need to know.
What is biodiversity and why does it matter?
In this context, biodiversity usually refers to the variety of all species living within a certain area or ecosystem, including plants, animals, insects, bacteria and fungi.
Each species in an ecosystem has its own impact on the environment, affecting the availability of clean water and air, soil condition, pollination and other food sources and resources. Variety is necessary to keep all these elements in balance, maintaining a stable and resilient world for humans to survive in.
Many parts of the world are experiencing rapid biodiversity loss as a result of phenomena caused by human activities, such as pollution, climate change and habitat destruction. A Queen’s University Belfast study published earlier this year found that 48 per cent of the world’s animal species are experiencing population decline. The Worldwide Fund for Nature claims we are witnessing the sixth mass extinction event in the Earth’s history.
“We live in a time of mass extinction, where an alarming number of species are disappearing and where the impoverished ecology of the planet is having a detrimental effect, not only on our climate emergency, but also on pollination and in the production of food,” Adam Architecture director Hugh Petter told Dezeen. “It is a powder keg.”
Adam Architecture’s work includes Nansledan, an extension to the British city of Newquay that is being designed for the Duchy of Cornwall. The studio says it will surpass the new biodiversity net gain rules by adding “habitat ‘units’ of around 24 per cent and an increase in hedgerow ‘units’ of around 48 per cent”.
What are the new rules?
Construction can be a major cause of direct biodiversity loss, and the new planning rules for England aim to address that. They mandate that new developments deliver a “biodiversity net gain” – that is, a measurably positive impact on biodiversity compared to what existed before.
Specifically, the legislation requires developers to deliver a biodiversity net gain of 10 per cent. To calculate this, the UK government has produced a formula called the “statutory biodiversity metric” for counting what it terms “biodiversity units”, which are gained through work to create or improve natural habitats and lost through building.
As they strive to meet the 10 per cent requirement, developers must prioritise enhancing biodiversity on-site. If they cannot meet the threshold on the site being developed, they will be allowed also to make biodiversity gains on other plots of land, including by purchasing biodiversity units from other landowners.
As a last resort, they must buy “statutory biodiversity credits” from the government, which will use the money to invest in habitat creation. Biodiversity gains delivered must be maintained for a minimum of 30 years by whoever owns the land, bound by legal agreements.
Once planning permission is granted for a project, the developer must submit an evidenced biodiversity gain plan to the local planning authority (usually the council), which will approve it or refuse it. Development can only start once the biodiversity gain plan is approved. If the developer then fails to act in line with their biodiversity gain plan, the planning authority may take enforcement action.
The legislation was initially intended to come into effect for large developments of more than 10 dwellings in November, but that was pushed back to January 2024.
Smaller sites will also be subject to the new rules from April 2024, while major infrastructure projects will have to comply from late November 2025.
What do architects and landscape architects need to know?
Architects and landscape architects will likely play a leadership role in ensuring that projects deliver on biodiversity requirements, working with ecologists and the authorities.
The most important thing, says Petter, is to understand the importance of biodiversity loss as an issue.
“The more architects can take a proper interest in the subject, the better placed they will be to work with the spirit of the new legislation and to think of imaginative ways that the minimum standards can be exceeded,” he said.
“It is crucial to engage with an ecologist as soon as possible,” added RSHP sustainability lead Michelle Sanchez. “It is also beneficial to evaluate the site as soon as you gain access.”
“This enables you to develop your designs based on the existing level of biodiversity, tailoring your strategy to local flora and fauna you particularly would like to support,” she said.
One thing to bear in mind is that the new rules aim to prioritise avoiding biodiversity loss in the first place.
“Avoiding biodiversity loss is the most effective way of reducing potential impacts, and it requires biodiversity to be considered at early design stages,” the guidance states.
To gain planning permission for a project that does cause biodiversity loss but proposes strategies to replace it, developers will need to explain, with evidence, why avoidance and minimisation is not possible.
Will this actually help to boost biodiversity?
The rules will mark the first time biodiversity enhancement has been a planning condition in England. According to University of Oxford researcher Sophus zu Ermgassen, it represents “one of the world’s most ambitious biodiversity policies”, but the exact impact is not yet certain.
But Sanchez is broadly optimistic. “Developers were not inclined to consider biodiversity enhancement in the past,” she told Dezeen.
“Only on projects attaining sustainability certificates such as BREEAM would biodiversity targets be discussed. Even then, it would sometimes more regarded as a tick-box exercise rather than an opportunity to make the building better and more appealing and to reduce the environmental impact that architectural projects have on the planet.”
However, she has warned in an opinion piece for Dezeen that a 10 per cent net gain on its own “is not enough to be able to reduce the negative impact that our way of life has had on biodiversity”.
Spotted: Today’s scientists are considering whether current levels of species loss constitute a sixth mass extinction event. But what we do know for sure is that we are facing a significant biodiversity crisis. As biodiversity declines, so too does the effectiveness of entire ecosystems. And this can cause significant harm to humans in the long run, damaging our food systems and increasing the chances of infectious diseases, among other issues.
Hoping to assist in the protection and rejuvenation of biodiversity around the world, Switzerland-based startup Inverto has developed an innovative drone-based system. The startup combines hardware and software technologies to create innovative and custom solutions to support climate restoration and agriculture. Using the drones, Inverto can sample soils, select and monitor sites, and release seeds for reforestation.
So far, Inverto has mainly focused its efforts on mangroves, as these are efficient carbon sinks and biodiversity hotspots. In December 2022, the company partnered with Delta Blue Carbon to plant 350,000 hectares of mangrove forest along the Indus River in Pakistan. And, as well as replanting mangroves, Inverto can also use its drone technologies to release beneficial insects.
Inverto is still a relatively new venture, having only been founded in 2022, but has received attention from various investors and accelerators. For example, in May this year, it received a €200,000 grant from the European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre in Switzerland to help it make use of space technologies.
The natural biodiversity that exists on our planet is precious and fortunately, innovators are working hard to protect it. In the archive, Springwise has also spotted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor biodiversity on farmland and a startup that puts a financial value on biodiversity to incentivise more companies to protect it.
Spotted: How much value does an animal species, such as a shark or a peregrine falcon, offer? And how can this value be expressed financially? We are not used to thinking in these terms, but these questions are extremely important if nature is to be effectively considered in important decisions – from business investments to urban planning.
Estonian startup Endangered Wildlife OÜ is providing answers. The company has developed a new, multidisciplinary technique for providing credible and reliable financial values for biodiversity. This delivers a total conservation value for an individual species that is composed of a broad range of considerations, from carbon value and aesthetic value to species existence value, among others. And, crucially, this value is applied to species within a specific location.
How these valuations are used depends on the needs of the organisation. But, to name one example, a municipality calculating the ROI of an investment in green space could add the financial value of the species supported by such a green space to other considerations, such as carbon sequestration.
Another tangible example came in 2022, when Endangered Wildlife OÜ worked with non-profit organisation Shark Allies to calculate the financial value of wild, living sharks in the entertainment industry.
Organisations receive biodiversity valuations through Endangered Wildlife OÜ’s consulting services. And, on top of this, the startup has been developing a machine learning software solution – called the Biodiversity Valuator – that is also used as a tool to calculate the financial value of biodiversity.
Making sustainability measurable is a task innovators are solving in a variety of ways. Springwise has spotted a platform that helps investors monitor the sustainability of their investment portfolios and an SaaS system that helps organisations ensure traceability and compliance along the entire supply chain.
Spotted: The World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest report on the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All finds that progress is lagging on health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to overlapping health crises. One contributor to those crises is the growing resistance to antibiotics. Materials scientists and innovators searching for new medicines are increasingly turning to the natural world for inspiration.
Brazilian biotechnology company Next Innovative Therapeutics (Nintx) has built a laboratory gastrointestinal system called xGIbiomics to test plant-based therapies for a range of illnesses. The company is focusing on infectious diseases, gastroenterology, neuroscience, immunology, and cardiometabolic health.
To better sift through Brazil’s biodiverse natural environment and narrow down potential candidates for new pharmaceuticals, Nintx also created an analytics infrastructure called GAIApath that’s powered by artificial intelligence (AI). By more quickly identifying plants that show promise for medicinal use, Nintx’s AI can help R&D departments work more efficiently and with less duplication.
Once a plant is chosen as a possible extract or compound for a pharmaceutical therapy, the xGIbiomics lab allows scientists to track its efficacy in treating both the microbiome and targeted disease cells. Currently focusing on the development of an antiviral treatment, Nintx is also using a $3 million (around €2.7 million) investment to accelerate the path to market for its products, most of which are in the early stages of research.
Technology continues to impact the global provision of healthcare, and Springwise has spotted innovators doing everything from delivering time-release micro dosages of medicines to printing vaccines on-demand with a tabletop printer.
Spanish architects Andrés Jaque and Miguel Mesa del Castillo have built a climate-conscious house that restores the drought-tolerant ecology of a site on the outskirts of Murcia.
Rambla Climate-House is raised up on stilts above a wild landscape, designed to preserve the site’s soil humidity and rejuvenate its biodiversity.
The fissured topography is modelled on the ravines – or “ramblas” as they are called in Spanish – that existed before the Molina de Segura area was flattened and urbanised.
Rambla Climate-House is a three-bedroom family home
The project came about when Mesa del Castillo was asked to build a family home here for his brother and sister-in-law.
Rather than follow the typical suburban template, the architect invited Jacque and his New York-based studio, Office for Political Innovation, to help him explore a new approach.
The house is raised up from the landscape on stilts
Working with soil expert María Martínez Mena and ecologists Paz Parrondo Celdrán and Rubén Vives, the architects developed a design that uses both high-tech and low-tech approaches to reverse the damage of urbanisation.
As well as raising Rambla Climate-House up from the ground, which allows the land below to be rewilded, the design team added an intelligent, eco-friendly irrigation system.
The house sits above a drought-tolerant ravine landscape
This smart system uses wastewater to achieve an appropriate soil moisture level, based on both sensor data and weather reports.
“The Rambla Climate-House works as a climatic and ecological device,” said Office for Political Innovation.
“[It] collects pooled rainfall from its roofs and grey water from its showers and sinks, to spray onto the rambla’s remains and regenerate their former ecologic and climatic constitution,” the studio added.
As the architects explain, ravines are more effective at preserving soil moisture than flat ground, which is why plants are able to survive during long periods of drought.
The ravines preserve soil moisture, making is easier for plants to grow
The ravines at Rambla Climate-House were artificially created using soil excavated to create the only flat area on the whole property – a carport at the entrance.
In the space of a year, the ramblas have become home to palm, fig and mastic trees, plants and grasses, and various animal, bird and insect species.
A passive irrigation system uses wastewater
The house’s architecture was designed to take advantage of the unusual landscape setting as well as keep costs down.
Exterior walls are all clad in galvanised steel apart from those that face the biodiverse garden, which are formed of floor-to-ceiling glazing.
Floor-to-ceiling glazing connects living spaces with the landscape
Beyond the glazed facade, a marble balcony provides a passively cooled seating area, while a solar coil gives the house an energy-efficient source of hot water.
Inside, rooms are laid out in sequence so that the garden is visible from everywhere. Living spaces are located at one end of the building, while three bedrooms can be found at the other end.
A striking apple-green shade colours both the interior walls and the underside of the roof, matching the plants visible outside.
Previous projects by Office for Political Innovation include the cascading Never Never Land House in Ibiza, the water-purifying Comso installation in New York, and the recently completed Reggio School near Madrid.
An excavated car port provided soil for the landscaping
Rambla Climate-House continues the trend. “Since its completion, the house has became a demonstrative device,” said the studio.
“Gatherings with neighbours and members of the extended Molina de Segura community are organised to share insights and experiences on a collective effort to reground Molina de Segura’s urbanisms.”
The photography is by José Hevia, with drone operation by Juan José Rojo Albadalejo.
Project credits:
Clients: Victoria Sánchez Muñoz, Antonio Mesa del Castillo Clavel Architect: Andrés Jaque/Office for Political Innovation, Miguel Mesa del Castillo Design team: Roberto González García, Nieves Calvo López, Joan Fernández Linares, Ana Fernández Martínez, Marina Fernández Ramos, David Gil Delgado, Marta Jarabo Devesa, Jesús Meseguer Cortés, Laura Mora Vitoria, Paola Pabón, Belverence Tameau Quantity survey: Francisco de Asís Pérez Martínez Estructural engineering: Qube Ingeniería (Iago González Quelle) Edaphology consultant: María Martínez Mena Ecology consultant: Paz Parrondo Celdrán Planting consultancy: Viveros Muzalé (Rubén Vives) Topographical survey: Fulgencio Ma Coll Coll Geotechnical report: Forte Ingeniería Quality survey: Ingeolab Construction: Excavaciones Eltoni, Hacienda Corvera, Cerrajería Alberto Sobrino, Construcciones Vifransa, Aispomur, Escayolas Dani, Hijos de Pascual Baño, Carpintería Tornel, Cristalería Marín, ACOM Agrocomponentes, Fontanería Diego, Anzora Instalaciones, Iceberg Climatización, Netro, Prymur, SYC Piedra Natural, Areniscas Crema, Mirete Mallas Metálicas, Gestchaft
Spotted: Nature soundscapes are often the preserve of meditation and wellbeing apps – used to make people feel more in touch with nature. But could they have a deeper scientific use? Dr. Sarab Sethi from the University of Cambridge thinks so. His groundbreaking work is based on the premise that soundscapes can tell us a lot about the health of an ecosystem. By monitoring a soundscape over time, we can get an early warning of changes in habitat health or the species present.
Dr Sethi has developed a device that records soundscapes over long time frames, with minimal human intervention. The technology, which is low-cost and open-source, consists of a network of sound recorders that are scattered across a landscape. These recorders collect audio data 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The data is then uploaded to the cloud, where it is automatically processed by a number of advanced machine learning algorithms.
The device is currently being used to monitor the biodiversity of different ecosystems under different human pressures as part of a trial of the technology. One of the places where the technology is being deployed is in Borneo. Here, the devices are being used to monitor sounds across a ‘landscape degradation gradient’ – from old growth forest, to logged forest and then to oil palm plantation. Scientists will then use the data to study how this gradient, and the different levels of environmental degradation, affects biodiversity. Another project is underway in the Arctic Circle, where researchers are listening to sounds in the soil and observing changes in the behaviour observed at anthills. The resesearch team is taking this approach because environmental pollutants could potentially be detected through the distressed noises of the ants.
Sethi’s soundscape-monitoring device could have a major impact on the field of ecology. By providing real-time data on changes in the soundscape, it would allow field ecologists to focus their efforts on areas where there are potentially significant changes taking place. This would save time and money, and ultimately result in better protection for delicate habitats. In addition, Sethi is working on making the device biodegradable which would reduce the impact of research projects on the environment. Overall, Sethi’s invention represents a potential breakthrough in the way field ecologists work, and it could have a profound impact on the conservation of endangered species and habitats.
In the future, such devices could play an important role in conservation efforts. Other similar innovations spotted by Springwise include the recreation of healthy soundscapes to attract fish to damaged coral reefs, and an app that identifies animal and plant species through a phone camera.
