Biodiversity and Ecosystem Finance, New York, USA, 27 & 28 March 2008

Many of the presentations at the Conference were devoted to the promotion of biodiversity investments via carbon trade schemes, and in certain regions (for instance, Australia) to the water services as well. This approach works very well with afforestation schemes, since there is triple gain – capture of carbon, enhancement of biodiversity and water storage. As pointed out in the Stern Report, improving incentives for forest conservation is ‘a highly cost-effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions’. Therefore, a lot of attention was devoted to different forest conservation schemes worldwide, with special emphasis on tropical regions, and incentive mechanisms to promote them.

The Conference provided a good snapshot of ‘who-is-doing-what-in-biodiversity-finance’, the current state of affairs and approaches worldwide, including experiences of the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, successfully operating biodiversity investment funds and other mechanisms (Verde Ventures, Eco-Enterprises Fund, landscape auctions in the Netherlands and Europe organized by Triple E, etc.). In addition, a number of case studies of the business case for biodiversity from globally operating companies Rio Tinto and Shell were presented.

Conference materials can be accessed via the following link: http://www.ecnc.org/BiodiversityEcosyste/Index_791.html

Business and Biodiversity Conference, Bonn, Germany, 2 & 3 April 2008

The German Business and Biodiversity Initiative is aimed at the establishment of a German Business and Biodiversity Platform during the German presidency of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2008-2010). The Platform will have its own secretariat, discussion forum for entrepreneurs, experts and NGOs, expert mediation/exchange, handbooks and guidelines, as well as international networking possibilities.

It is foreseen that about 25-30 medium and large companies will participate in the future platform. Many of these were present at the Conference (Heidelberg Cement, KfW Bankengruppe, OTTO, Weleda, Bionade, Precious Woods, and many others), gave presentations on their products and insights about how biodiversity is dealt with in company operations, and how this influences relationships with consumers.

The general message was that there is a need for intelligent restructuring of an industrialized society. The approach to date – first to invest, then to protect – no longer works, and the triangle of sustainability is misused. Nature is a major asset for many industries, such as tourism, cosmetics/pharmaceuticals and food, but also a source of inspiration for new technologies (self-cleaning surfaces, new products, etc.). There have been recent success stories in Germany for nature-based food products entering the market (such as Bionade, lemonade made from natural ingredients), which show the market potential for nature-based products.

Conference materials can be accessed via the following link: http://www.ecnc.org/InternationalConfere/Index_793.html

For more information, you can contact Vineta Goba.