Examples of How Business Activities
Impact Nature

Land conversion conducted by businesses, including alterations involving terrestrial, freshwater, and marine spaces, also affects the natural environment. In West Africa, tropical rainforests continue to vanish because of factors such as cocoa farming. In Côte d'Ivoire, tropical rainforests once covered roughly 25% of the country’s land area. However, this area has now diminished to around 4%. Tropical rainforests hold exceptionally high biodiversity, and their decline is understood to have major consequences for ecosystems and biodiversity.

A widely recognized example of the consequences of excessive water use is the diversion of irrigation water that once fed the Aral Sea. Formerly the world’s fourth-largest lake, the Aral Sea had shrunk to about 10% of its original size by 2007, nearly disappearing as surrounding countries increased irrigation for cotton and other crops. Consequently, salinity rose, fish species vanished, and agricultural productivity declined, creating a vicious cycle.

Climate change and rising temperatures driven by greenhouse gas emissions represent one of the forces contributing to the deterioration of natural capital. Businesses emit large volumes of GHGs worldwide, and the combustion of fossil fuels in particular is estimated to release approximately 37 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2024. These emissions are raising global average temperatures, and by 2024, the increase is projected to be about 1.55 °C relative to the 1850–1900 average^*. In Russia, higher temperatures have led to melting permafrost, weakening the foundations of buildings and pipelines and causing fuel oil spills. These incidents have resulted in extensive river pollution.
Climate change also presents risks for biodiversity. Rising temperatures and shifts in rainfall patterns are assumed to impact the distribution of vegetation and the species that depend on it, disturbing ecosystem balance. Climate change is expected to become the largest driver of biodiversity loss by 2050.

• * IPCC AR6 reports an increase of 1.09 °C in average temperature from 2011 to 2020, compared with the 1850–1900 baseline.

Nutrient pollution, or eutrophication, has long posed challenges in Japan’s inland bays. Although nutrients are vital for life, excessive nutrient input can harm ecosystems. In Japan, nutrient pollution from industrial and household wastewater has triggered red tides and blue-green algal blooms, both representing abnormal increases in phytoplankton. This has affected freshwater and marine ecosystems, reduced fishery resources, contaminated drinking water, and caused health issues for nearby communities. Water quality in Japan has been improving in recent years because of eutrophication control measures.

Ballast water offers one example of how invasive alien species spread. Ballast water refers to the seawater loaded onto ships to stabilize them when they are not carrying cargo. It is taken on when cargo is unloaded and discharged when new cargo is loaded at the destination port. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), around 10 billion tons of ballast water are moved internationally each year, but when organisms present in ballast water are released into environments outside their native range, invasive alien species, such as foreign shellfish, fish and seaweed, can proliferate, generating problems worldwide. Wakame seaweed, familiar in Japan, has spread beyond national borders through ballast water and is now flourishing worldwide. Wakame is not widely consumed overseas; thus, it can spread rapidly and significantly disrupt local fisheries. Owing to its major impact, wakame is ranked among the world’s top 100 invasive alien species. With the Ballast Water Management Convention in force, global efforts to control ballast water are underway.
The economic damage caused by invasive alien species is estimated at roughly JPY5 trillion per year globally, posing a threat comparable to climate change.

A report by IPBES notes that alterations in terrestrial and marine use are the most substantial and direct factors in changes in the state of nature, and the assessment results indicate that roughly 30% of anthropogenic changes in nature can be attributed to this factor. Following this category are direct resource extraction at roughly 23%, climate change at roughly 14%, and the introduction of invasive alien species at roughly 11%.