1477. What Is “Nature Positive”? 

Nature degradation not only accelerates climate change but also increases infectious disease risks and destabilizes the water cycle, thereby undermining the stability of human societies themselves. Nature is not merely a resource external to human society; rather, it is increasingly recognized as the very foundation of all systems, including the economy, health, and climate.

A paper published in Frontiers in Science reframes biodiversity loss not as a conventional environmental issue, but as a crisis concerning the stability of the entire Earth system. At the center of this framing is the concept of “Nature Positive,” which sets the goal of not only halting nature loss by 2030 but also reversing it toward recovery.

First, the paper argues that maintaining the stability of the Earth’s biosphere, climate, and hydrological processes cannot be achieved through traditionally siloed environmental policies. Instead, it is necessary to adopt an integrated “Nature Positive” framework that treats international goals related to climate, biodiversity, oceans, and human development in a unified manner.

In this context, the highest priorities for achieving the 2030 targets emphasize the need to avoid further loss of relatively intact “remaining primary ecosystems, biomes, natural processes, and species assemblages” that are still only minimally affected by human activity. These systems have irreversible value because they cannot be restored within short timeframes once lost. At the same time, reducing species extinction risk and restoring degraded nature are identified as urgent parallel priorities.

As a systematic framework for advancing these efforts, the paper proposes the “Three Global Conditions (3Cs).” This framework classifies the world into three states based on the degree of human influence—highly modified regions, semi-natural shared landscapes, and relatively intact natural areas—and optimizes conservation, use, and restoration strategies according to each condition. Through this approach, both the structure of nature (species distributions and ecosystems) and its functions (biological and non-biological processes) can be maintained and restored simultaneously.

The paper also emphasizes that successful conservation requires integrating not only scientific knowledge but also the knowledge systems of Indigenous peoples and local communities. These knowledge systems are considered fundamentally aligned with the goals of nature coexistence, as they frame ecosystems not as “resources separate from humans,” but as beings embedded within relationships of mutual responsibility.

Furthermore, the transition to a Nature Positive approach requires transformation beyond environmental policy frameworks alone. In other words, it necessitates a shift away from economic structures that treat nature as an external resource for consumption, toward an economy that operates within planetary boundaries while maintaining and restoring natural capital, and simultaneously achieving human development and equity.

(Reference) Nature Positive: halting and reversing biodiversity loss toward restoring Earth system stability, Frontiers in Science (2026).　https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/science/articles/10.3389/fsci.2026…

Contributor: Miyuki IIYAMA,  Strategic Coordination Office