Biodiversity underpins the systems we all rely on, whether that be food, water, climate regulation, economic stability. So knowing how intact ecosystems really are is essential for making informed decisions.

When combined with other data sets, such as species persistence, or other environmental factors such as water scarcity, plus company,  operational, or supply chain data, you can really begin to understand where your dependencies, impacts, and opportunities are.

The Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) comes from over a decade of scientific work, the PREDICTS project, at the Natural History Museum in London, co-led by Prof. Andy Purvis and Dr Adriana De Palma, and the Biodiversity Future’s Lab.

In short, the BII calculates how much of a terrestrial region’s original biodiversity is still present and whether the populations of local species are at healthy levels. 

The model data set covers more than:

The short answer is that it's increasingly significant for them. I think as ecosystems are collapsing, operations and supply chains suffer, and investors demand accountability. Boards are now realising that biodiversity loss is financial risk.

Biodiversity risk is following the same trajectory that climate did a couple of decades ago, but it is moving at faster speed. There is still a long way to go to ensure biodiversity is a priority within the boardroom.

That's why it's so important that we can translate the numbers into what it means for the bottom line. If you can restore and preserve biodiversity and see an increase in your investments in certain sectors or in certain assets, then we can drive executive and board engagement. 

Unlike climate, biodiversity loss doesn't come with a single headline figure like global temperature rise. But biodiversity is more complex; there are millions of species, each responding differently to human pressures. That complexity can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.  The challenge is that biodiversity loss is often silent and invisible until we hit a tipping point, like a fishery collapsing or a pollinator crash.

The BII makes loss visible before we get to the crisis point. It distils this huge amount of ecological data into something that is comparable and trackable across different regions and over time.

For decision makers, BII acts a bit like a dashboard light in your car. When biodiversity starts declining, BII starts flashing red. You know, you can't ignore it, and you have to act before the engine fails. 

In 2022 we established the Innovation Unit at the museum as a way to scale the research impact, from over 400 museum scientists. One of those advanced ideas that arose is the Biodiversity Intactness Index.

By taking the science out of the academic papers and into the hands of decision makers, we are helping businesses and financial institutions make net positive decisions, this drives real environmental and societal impact. There are several factors which make the BII unique:

First, the scientific rigour, a peer-reviewed process underpinned by real-world, scientific ecological data. Its scale means it provides very comprehensive geographic and taxonomic coverage. Second, it’s a globally modelled metric. This is incredibly important when understanding risk and impact, as it allows you to not only look at where you’ve come from but project future biodiversity change.  Finally, it’s multi-purposed, with real-world applicability for policy-makers, governments, academics, NGOs, and the private-sector.

The BII is also a Component Indicator in the Kungming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Monitoring Framework. Dozens of organisations use it to understand how their operations, investments, or supply chains impact or depend upon biodiversity.

I think ultimately the BII can serve as a guide for business and financial institutions to make net-positive decisions that leads us towards a future where people and planet thrive together.

You can learn more about the Biodiversity Intactness Index by visiting https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/services/data/biodiversity-intactness-index.html