BIODIVERSITY
In their own words...
“The fight against climate change will be lost or won in the Global South. So now is the time for action.”
Francis Elisha, Africa Director, Rocky Mountain Institute
“We all know that there’s this innate relationship with nature. It’s served our ancestors, it’s provided us with what we need to live on this planet and to have a happy, good life. I think the biggest capacity building is that philosophical shift of using nature as infrastructure. And beyond that, to be able to trust it to provide us with the development needs that we have.”
The Climate Solutions Week: Working together as a team to deliver concrete results
Radhika Murti, Director, IUCN Centre for Society and Governance
focusing on small, isolated initiatives. Evans emphasized the importance of leveraging innovative financial instruments and ensuring that the hub supports two to three exemplary NBS projects that can serve as showcase for the hub’s effectiveness. These projects, he argued, would be critical in demonstrating the practical viability and impact of NBS initiatives. Challenges and Opportunities While the potential benefits of NBS are immense, several challenges limit their widespread adoption. These include a lack of national and regional focus, insufficient scalable projects and weaknesses in project preparation. Moreover, there is a notable gap in knowledge regarding innovative finance approaches that could attract private capital to NBS initiatives. To address these challenges the Nature Solutions Finance Hub aims to act as an incubator for high-impact projects, providing the necessary support to bring them to financial closure. By pooling global resources and leveraging ADB’s expertise the hub seeks to create a conducive environment for NBS to thrive, thereby ensuring that nature conservation efforts are both impactful and sustainable. A Call to Action The hub represents a bold step forward in the global effort to combat climate
change and biodiversity loss. By bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders and focusing on innovative finance mechanisms, the hub aims to unlock the potential of NBS at scale. As the hub moves forward, the continued collaboration and commitment of partners will be crucial in turning vision into reality. With the stakes higher than ever, the work of the Nature Solutions Finance Hub is not just timely – it is essential. The outcomes of the April 2024 Partners Forum make it clear that while challenges remain, the path forward is filled with opportunity. In order to ensure there is a sustainable and resilient future for all, now is the time for governments,
“Financing nature-based solutions and more generally speaking, financing nature, requires a complete change of mindset. We need to look at how our economies are damaging nature, while bearing in mind that about half our global GDP depends on nature.”
Mathilde Bord- Laurans, Head of Climate Change and Nature, French Development Agency
financial institutions and private sector players to rally behind nature-based solutions.
“If you’re going to attract more finance, you need to think about outcomes in nature and how they can be valued, too. If you look at the stocks of biodiversity in the world, they tend to be often in the Global South. These are quite complex territories and risk is high – but the risk of not addressing the challenges is going to be even higher.”
By pooling global resources and leveraging ADB’s expertise the hub seeks to create a conducive environment for NBS to thrive.
Giles Davies, Founder and Chairman, Conservation Capital
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