Issue Ecological decline as a systemic risk to health, economy and resilience

Summary

The report finds that ecological decline in the Netherlands has a range of adverse effects on public health, quality of life and the economy. Healthy ecosystems underpin food production, water supply and raw materials for industry and medicine, and because businesses depend on nature for inputs, pollination and water while also contributing to its decline, biodiversity loss is a systemic risk to the economy, financial stability and social welfare. When an ecosystem loses species it recovers less well from disturbances such as drought, pests, prolonged rain or floods, and monocultures and impoverished landscapes are more vulnerable to disease and invasive species. A steep fall in pollinators such as bees, wasps and butterflies can reduce both plant diversity and crop yields, and poorer soil life means more fertiliser is needed and production costs rise. The report explains that when technical solutions must replace functions such as water storage that nature used to provide, the costs of water treatment, agriculture and dyke reinforcement go up.