Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility Jrgen Zeitlberger About

Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility Jürgen Zeitlberger

About IUCN Is the largest environmental network and is dedicated to biodiversity, climate change and sustainable development. Key facts Key numbers 211 § IUCN established in 1948 and is world’s largest environmental network States and government agencies are Members of IUCN 160+ Countries have IUCN members 1100+ NGOs are part of the IUCN network 2020 § IUCN is a membership union, composed of government and civil society organisations § IUCN is dedicated to achieve universal goals including biodiversity, climate change and sustainable development § IUCN is the only environmental organization with official United Nations Observer Status 11, 000+ Experts assess state of world’s natural resources § IUCN is strongly engaged in tying in the private finance market to conservation and is founding member of the Coalition for Private Investment in Conservation (CPIC). IUCN is implementing partner of EUR 8 mn GEF grant to CPIC and is implementing agency of GCF

The challenge Funding constraints are seen as one of the most pressing challenges in reaching global conservation targets. The bottleneck seems not to the lack of liquidity but the lack of investable conservation assets. Conclusion Conservation Finance Gap § Conservation projects across the world face many challenges § Stable access to capital is biggest obstacle to long-term viability § Capital supply is only fraction of actual conservation finance needs USD 300 – 400 bn USD 200 – 300 bn § Current funding predominantly from public bodies and philanthropies § Private sector crucial for reaching conservation targets § Conservation projects mostly not meeting risk/return criteria of investors USD 52 bn Credit Suisse, IUCN, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, & The Rockefeller Foundation, 2016 § Innovative approaches to finance needed to attract private finance, linking conservation initiatives to profitability

Overview BNCFF is an innovative finance initiative that supports coastal conservation projects to become financially selfsustaining, thereby detangling them from donations and making them attractive for private finance sources. Notes Balance § Project developers/businesses combining business activities with conservation of ecosystems in coastal regions, apply for support to BNCFF Business potential § BNCFF screens projects and selects those meeting clearly defined conservation and commercial parameters § BNCFF supports with: § seed funding to meet capital and operating expenditure requirements; and § technical assistance to advance commercial, legal, and environmental performance Conservation benefits § BNCFF aim is to create a risk/return profile attractive for capital providers (for ex. impact investors, local banks) § BNCFF carefully identifies positive impacts based on environmental & social key performance indicators

Business model examples Projects combining conservation with business come in many shapes and sizes. Each has different hurdles to overcome. Examples § Sustainable shrimp/crab aquaculture linked to mangrove reforestation securing price premiums through certification § Fishing nets recycling (Nylon) facing high demand in carpet and fashion industry and incentivizing proper disposal § Sustainable fisheries linked to Marine Protected Areas set-up and enforcement § Creation of carbon credits (blue carbon) to fund mangrove conservation (still not break-even) in combination with business activities (potentially breakeven) § Renewable energy production (wave, tidal, waste to energy) extended by coastal conservation activities to maximize benefits § Sustainable mangrove use (wood chips) sharing economic opportunities with communities (tannin)

Other BNCFF activities The BNCFF is creating knowledge on the sustainable development of coastal and marine resources. This includes a framework on tracking socio-environmental performance of projects and businesses and a report on blue bonds. Explanations § The + Impacts Framework ensures project activities actively contribute to and can monitor, report and verify (MRV) positive environmental and social impacts across sectors. § The +Impacts Framework is of wider use for efforts which wish to assess, evaluate and monitor positive environmental and social impacts of BNC projects across the world. § The Blue Bonds report analyses the emerging field of blue bonds and how those can be used to effectively finance coastal resilience activities § It identifies key action items necessary to scale blue bonds and frameworks suitable for including this potentially new financing instrument § The Blue Bonds report discusses monitoring and measuring approaches of blue bonds

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