Biodiversity and risk in the financial sector

The worldwide loss of biodiversity is an extremely serious problem. The economic costs involved are similar, if not larger, than those related to climate change. This problem is now being addressed with some urgency by governmental and inter-government bodies but has been relatively neglected in the academic accounting and finance literature. The aim of this paper is to review the issue with particular reference to how it affects the risk of organisations in the financial sector. The paper outlines the nature of the associated problems and the difficulties faced in tackling them, reviews current thinking and action in the area and discusses possible future policies and approaches. It covers accounting issues, investment, banking and insurance. It concludes that there is huge scope and need for more research in this area to improve the associated theory, reporting and policy evaluation.