We need a circular economy to tackle biodiversity loss — and landscape architects have a key role to play
Biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate and our extractive, wasteful, and polluting linear economy is one of the main underlying causes of this crisis. More than 90% of global biodiversity loss, and a third of greenhouse gas emissions, is due to the extraction and processing of natural resources. With a circular economy, we can create economic value in ways that not only prevent further decline but also rebuild biodiversity.
The Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted at the UN Biodiversity COP15, sets out an ambitious pathway to halt and reverse biodiversity loss — and the circular economy has a key role to play in delivering it.
Despite this, the circular economy is missing from most National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and national targets, and high-impact opportunities in sectors including agriculture, food, and — crucially for landscape architects — the built environment remain largely untapped.
In the built environment, circular economy strategies in Europe could help avoid 7,700 km2 of urban sprawl by focusing on redeveloping brownfield sites and add 8,500 km2 of greenblue spaces to cities by expanding tree canopies, vegetation, and areas of water — while generating annual revenues of EUR 575 billion by 2035 (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Building Prosperity, 2024).
The circular economy can strengthen the delivery of all 23 GBF targets. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s new policy brief — Scaling action for nature: how the circular economy can help deliver the GBF — outlines how the circular economy can help countries tackle biodiversity loss at its source, meet biodiversity targets, and integrate circular solutions into their biodiversity plans.
IFLA and its national representatives have an important role to play in promoting circular, nature-positive approaches as a key to a successful NBSAP implementation, raising awareness and building bridges between stakeholders at the landscape level.
