Business and Biodiversity Initiative

There has been lots happening here at the initiative and on the web in the last week. As the touring exhibition gears up for launch in Japan and Germany, we are getting closer to being able to publish more details and previews on the website.

In the meantime, however, here are a few gems from around the web.

Media: The guardian has another wildlife in review slide show up, including a picture of a transparent sea cucumber discovered about 2,5 km underwater. Apparently there is more biodiversity in the depths of the sea than first thought.

Biomimicry: it's something we've written about before, and it will be included in our travelling exhibition. In Norway a power plant is up and running using osmosis, the process in plants and people that transfers water and nutrients around the body. Scientists have also found a new type of anti-freeze in a beetle (pictured) that etches out a living in northern Arctic. This anti-freeze is not a protein but a connection of fatty acids, so may have a range of new commercial applications.

COP15: The GTZ and the CDB secretariat have released a booklet covering REDD and Biodiversity.  There is a significant overlap between the climate change impact and biodiversity loss, and the booklet contains a number of examples illustrating how effective policy can address both.