Building biodiversity business

Recently, IUCN and Shell published an extensive review of initiatives and opportunities to build biodiversity business -- i.e. commercial ventures that generate profits via activities which conserve biodiversity, use biological resources sustainably and share the benefits equitably.

     Report
     Executive summary

They are now developing a pilot pipeline of biodiversity investment opportunities -- at both the enterprise and ecosystem levels -- and identifying biodiversity potential finance partners.

Do you know of a biodiversity business investment opportunity?
Can you recommend a biodiversity finance partner?

If so, please contact Francis Vorhies:

For more information, please visit our building biodiversity business worksite:

    earthmind.net/bbb

Closely related to this work is the long-running initiative on 'biotrade' undertaken by UNCTAD and its partners, including the ITC. Earthmind associates have been advising both UNCTAD and the ITC on their biotrade programmes and maintains a supporting worksite at:

     earthmind.net/biotrade

Some of the early efforts to build biodiversity business included an IFC/IUCN partnership to explore options for developing and investing in biodiversity business in emerging markets. Regarding their early scoping work in Africa, Earthmind maintains a small site:

     kijani.net

More recently, Francis Vorhies has been assisting the ITC to develop a programme of work on carbon offset exports. From a biodiversity business perspective, nature-based carbon offsets are a biodiversity service opportunity. A protype guide for carbon offset exporters is under development at:

     earthmind.net/carbon