Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Global Landscapes Forum: Finance for nature: What comes next?

7 March 2023. 6TH GLF INVESTMENT CASE SYMPOSIUM Finance for nature: What comes next?

The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) is the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on integrated land use, dedicated to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Climate Agreement.

Concept note # 9 p.

The 6th GLF Investment Case Symposium aims to:

Gather champions from across the globe to shift from high-level conversation towards concrete solutions to drive sustainable land use investments in the Global South.
Showcase frontrunners who demonstrate how barriers can be overcome to catalyze private sector investments in local naturebased solutions and green commodity value chains.
Identify investable community-led business models and launch a process that will lead to investments in nature.

Extracts of the Agenda

Addressing the complexity of directing sustainable climate finance to the Global South

The Mobilising More for Climate (MoMo4C) and the Green Finance for Sustainable Landscapes (GF4SL) programs aim to develop investment-ready projects that combine climate and biodiversity action in remote, biodiversity-rich landscapes. The programs use an integrated landscape approach that brings relevant stakeholders together to collaborate and attract entrepreneurs with ecosystem-based solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation.

The session highlighted solutions that the landscape partners found to address complex challenges encountered in landscapes in Cameroon, Uganda, Zambia, Ghana and Indonesia.

Market-based mechanisms: Sustainable conservation finance from incubation to operations

This session showcased successful market-based mechanism for conservation finance, and explore the remaining challenges in this emerging field. The session will also introduce the new Rimba Collective incubation and readiness facility designed to help conservation projects prepare for market demand, and present a clear pathway to finance conservation and restoration impacts at scale and over time.

How do we reach the sustainable finance tipping point?

The financial sector has been a leading contributor to the crises we face today, from climate change to land degradation to biodiversity loss, but it also has the potential to be an important part of the remedy. While many commitments have been made, such as net zero and zero deforestation pledges, more needs to happen to reach the sustainable finance tipping point. This panel discussed what the next steps must be for the financial ecosystem to become a driver of sustainability.

Demonstrate what works: Better impact monitoring to scale nature-based investments

Many corporate and financial investors have adopted net-zero emission targets and biodiversity commitments. However, it is not trivial to ensure compliance in a robust and cost-effective manner, e.g. that agricultural loans do not contribute to deforestation, or to demonstrate that investments increase biodiversity. Impact investors are therefore increasingly demanding impact monitoring tools to ensure that investments generate no harm and provide restoration benefits in terms of enhanced resilience to climate change and biodiversity conservation.

Johannes Mössinger is an expert in management information systems and software for impact monitoring and land use modelling. He leads Unique´s digital solution team developing robust monitoring tools that are tailored to the requirements of (carbon-) standards and the needs of family farms and forest owners. This includes the development of field data collection tools such as an APP up to remote sensing based analysis. The personal regional focus of his work is Latin America and East Africa.
Dr. Thomas Asbeck Forestry deputy department head at unique land use GmbH. He presented eco-acoustics recording for monitoring
Till Pistorius is acting head of Unique’s climate team. His work at Unique focuses on the development and implementation of public and private land use projects for implementing global policy targets on Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR), ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), REDD+, and other land use topics.
Mareike Hussels Blended Finance Manager, Triodos Investment Management

How to scale finance for ecosystem restoration: Solutions from the private sector and development partners

This session, organized by the World Bank-led Finance Taskforce under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, will highlight some of the most promising models and financial solutions that are unlocking private investment in restoration across different sectors and ecosystems. Please join this session to learn more about these experiences in a dynamic conversation with corporate and financial leaders investing in restoration.

Report: Scaling up ecosystem restoration finance — A stocktake report

Accelerating nature-based businesses in the Global South

The increased need for innovative entrepreneurial solutions to drive sustainable transformations of industry in the Global South means there is an increased need for accelerator and incubator programs to get businesses investment-ready. This session helps entrepreneurs in and across the Global South better understand accelerators, incubators, and their role in promoting businesses that focus on sustainability.

Moderator Eva Makandi Light on a Hill Founder
Angela Atieno. Founder and Director of Vintrace Limited. Vintrace Limited is a tropical fruit winery based in Kajiado County currently processing mango, pineapple, strawberry and banana wines. It was founded in 2018 to provide solutions in post harvest losses especially for the seasonal fruits that result in tonnes of waste.An Alumni of the 2022-2023 Restoration Factory Incubation Programme.
Chebet Cheruiyot E4Impact Foundation Value Chain Lead.
E4Impact Foundation is a member of a consortium implementing a three-year project in four counties in the Amaya Triangle with ethnic tribes from which Sylvia belongs to. The project is called Kenya Rangelands Ecosystem Services Productivity Programme – RangER and it’s a European Union (EU) funded project. E4Impact contributes to the consortium by managing the aspect of community livelihood through a systematic capacity building of at least 10 cooperatives per county.
Anthony Kimani E4Impact Investment Services Manager
Samuel Kabiru WRI Manager, The Land Accelerator
In 2018, World Resources Institute (WRI) launched the Land Accelerator Africa, the world’s first training and mentorship program targeted specifically toward businesses that restore degraded forests, farmland and pasture.

Cooperative carbon finance: enabling smallholder agroforestry at scale through carbon markets

Smallholders don’t have access to traditional financial means to diversify their business model, become more climate resilient & improve their livelihoods. As just 1.7% of current climate finance flows to smallholders, we need new solutions. Projects making use of carbon finance have a lot of potential if implemented well. In this session, Acorn (Rabobank) and One Acre Fund will discuss how.

Ineke Keers Acorn (Rabobank) Head of Business Development
Tim Diphoorn serves as Europe Director of Business Development for One Acre Fund
Max Berkelmans Acorn (Rabobank) Finance Lead
Pieternel Boogaard FMO Head of Agribusiness
Catherine Martini Microsoft Senior Program Manager

Resources

Navigating the tricky terrain of NBS and blended finance

In this panel discussion, experts from the fields of nature-based solutions (NBS) and blended finance discussed the challenges and opportunities of financing NBS projects and present insights on blended finance based on their experience in Latin America, West Africa, and Asia. The session explored how the combination of public and private finance through blended finance instruments can support the implementation of NBS projects and how this approach can deliver multiple benefits for people and nature.

Ebenezer Arthur Wangara Capital Partners Founder and CEO. Wangara Green Ventures is a climate-focused impact investment company in Ghana.

Closing the nature finance gap: practical solutions to mobilize private finance for landscape restoration

The Restoration Seed Capital Facility is working to unlock private finance and scale up investment in forest landscape restoration with case studies from impact-driven fund managers who are developing new restoration-focused funds and strong project pipelines.

Sustainable livestock value chain investments for rangeland restoration

This session presented two investment cases from Colombia and Mongolia that have taken steps towards developing partnerships with the commercial sector, investors and value chain actors to harness finance for rangeland protection and restoration through sustainable low-emission livestock value chains.

The session was a collaboration between the CGIAR initiatives on Livestock and Climate and Climate Resilience, the Sustainable Fibre Alliance, Hacienda San Jose Colombia and the CGIAR Hub for Sustainable Finance .

Addressing commodity-driven deforestation in investment portfolios: How financial institutions can drive sustainability and value creation

Commodities such as palm oil, livestock, soy, coffee and cocoa are some of the main drivers of agriculture related land use change. They are also key commodities of the FOLUR Impact Program, which seeks to transform global food systems through sustainable value chains. This session featured expert insights and case studies on how financial institutions can proactively respond to newly proposed regulations and accounting standards to drive change in landscapes and across value chains.

Catalyzing investments for landscape restoration in agrifood supply chains: Sharing experiences and tools

Agribusiness value chains are inherently highly susceptible to risks from climate change and the biodiversity crisis as they are directly dependent on natural capital and ecosystem services. The session will discuss how agribusinesses can manage such risks by investing in landscape restoration, as well as discuss opportunities to attract different types of investors, at different scales (site level, landscape, national, international) from both public and private actors.

The session will launched a new guide developed by IUCN and FOLU which lays out a methodology for agribusinesses to manage their risks through investing in landscape restoration. The guide was developed based on a collaboration with three private sector counterparts working with agricultural commodities (sugar and cocoa value chains in Tanzania, Peru, and Ghana) on how to restore landscapes in their supply chains.

New ways forward: How can the financial ecosystem sustain and restore nature?

Many projects, funds and investors are making waves in the world of sustainable finance with ambitions to positively impact local communities and landscapes. Yet to achieve these goals, best practices need to be scaled up. This session reflected on successful and innovative financing mechanisms that could be leveraged to sustain and restore nature.

5 resources to keep you up to date on sustainable finance in 2023

UNEP (2022) The State of Finance for Nature # 70 p.

The State of Finance of Nature tracks global trends in public and private investment in nature-based solutions, aiming to improve data quality and identify opportunities for governments, businesses, and financiers.

This report is the second in a series that aims to inform public and private actors about progress against key targets and the extent to which finance flows are aligned with global targets and the investment needed to limit global warming to below 1.5 or 2°C, halt biodiversity loss and achieve land degradation neutrality. It also provides high-level recommendations on how to scale up financial flows to NbS and improve alignment with nature-positive outcomes.

World Bank (2022) Scaling up ecosystem restoration finance – A stocktake report # 63 p.

The UN Decade Finance Task Force (FTF), chaired by the World Bank, aims to catalyze action which can contribute to unlocking the capital needed to meet the Decade’s goals.

This report is the first in a series of outputs of the FTF and provides an overview of the current challenges to and opportunities for increasing public and private investment in restoration.

It looks at innovative approaches to financing restoration activities taken by actors in the public, private, or non-profit sectors and the potential for these to be replicated or scaled. The report also lays out a draft roadmap of actions the FTF will take to overcome challenges and contribute to scaling investment in restoration.

RSCF (2022) Closing the nature finance gap: practical solutions to mobilize private investment for landscape restoration # 4 p

Supported by the governments of Germany and Luxembourg and implemented by the UN Environment Programme and the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, RSCF aims to unlock private finance for activities that contribute to forest and landscape restoration in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

This white paper summarizes the key messages of the session Unlocking Private Finance for Landscape Restoration: Practical Solutions to Mobilize Investment to be presented at the 6th Global Landscapes Forum Investment Case Symposium.

The publication showcases two case studies in which RSCF is supporting the development of practical finance solutions to bridge the gap between investors and local nature-based solutions (NbS) in the Global South.

IUCN (2022) A guide to investing in landscape restoration to sustain agrifood supply chains # 4 p

There is a compelling business case for companies to align with net-zero and nature-positive targets. For agribusinesses, guaranteeing sustainable production throughout the supply chain should be a high priority. As weather events become more frequent and extreme, and land degradation increases globally, agribusinesses are at risk of experiencing decreased yields and reduced revenues as these shocks cause issues throughout supply chains.

The aim of this guide is to help agribusinesses make better investments in landscape restoration so they are better able to sustain agrifood supply chains, reduce risks, raise resilience, and enhance returns.

Tropenbos International (2022) Access to Landscape Finance for Small-Scale Producers and Local Communities: A Literature Review # 26 P.

Access to finance is a key element of sustainable and inclusive landscapes. This infographic - Inclusive finance for sustainable landscapes requires a multistakeholder approach - summarizes the main findings from the study Access to Landscape Finance for Small-Scale Producers and Local Communities: A Literature Review which identifies the factors that contribute to or hinder inclusive financing for micro/small/medium-sized enterprises and projects across sectors in ways that collectively contribute to more sustainable landscapes in the tropics.

About Global Landscapes Forum

The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) is the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on integrated land use, dedicated to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Climate Agreement. The Forum takes a holistic approach to create sustainable landscapes that are productive, prosperous, equitable and resilient and considers five cohesive themes of food and livelihoods, landscape restoration, rights, finance and measuring progress.

It is led by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), in collaboration with its co-founders UNEP and the World Bank and Charter Members. Charter members: CIAT, CIFOR-ICRAF, CIRAD, Climate Focus, Conservation International, Crop Trust, Ecoagriculture Partners, The European Forest Institute, Evergreen Agriculture, FAO, FSC, GEF, GIZ, ICIMOD, IFOAM - Organics International, The International Livestock Research Institute, INBAR, IPMG, IUFRO, Rainforest Alliance, Rare, Rights and Resources Initiative, SAN, TMG-Think Tank for Sustainability, UNEP, Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation part of Wageningen Research, World Farmer Organization, World Agroforestry, World Bank Group, World Resources Institute, WWF International, Youth in Landscapes Initiative (YIL)