Voluntary carbon offset provider Climate Impact Partners and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) have partnered to launch a programme to finance biodiversity conservation.
The Save a Species initiative will enable companies to fund the recovery of some of the world’s most threatened tree species, from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List, and the ecosystems they support.
“Via the Save a Species programme, we will direct funding to where it is most needed by recovering populations of threatened tree species, which are crucial to the survival of entire ecosystems, whilst bringing benefits to local communities,” said Kirsty Shaw, BGCI’s head of conservation planning and action.
“Each funded project works with local botanical experts and communities to design and deliver a conservation action plan to increase the tree stock, plant new populations and manage the trees into the future,” Climate Impact Partners said in a statement.
Climate Impact Partners was formed in 2021 through the merger of Natural Capital Partners and ClimateCare. BGCI is a UK-based conservation charity representing botanical and forestry organisations in more than 100 countries worldwide. Last year, BGCI announced a plan to issue biodiversity credits, and the Save a Species initiative could contribute to their development.
“Climate Impact Partners is not offering this initiative as a biodiversity credit option. However, our partner BGCI has worked with Queen Mary University London on a biodiversity credit methodology, so we may use some of the Save a Species projects to test that approach,” Rebecca Fay, chief marketing officer at Climate Impact Partners, told Carbon Pulse.
Save a Species aligns with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) agreed in 2022 in Montreal at the COP15 UN biodiversity summit, which aims to protect 30% of the land and sea and restore 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030.
The initiative also aligns with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations, Climate Impact Partners said.
“Save a Species aligns biodiversity investments with corporate priorities, such as supporting tree species within proximity to supply chain or operational bases.”
The framework is gaining momentum, with an increasing number of big corporations and financial institutions pledging to publish nature-related disclosures.
During the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, over 300 businesses committed to adopting the TNFD recommendations within two years.
According to the BCGI State of the World’s Trees report published in 2021, of the 58,497 tree species worldwide, nearly 30% are threatened with extinction, and at least 142 tree species are registered as extinct in the wild.
“The main threats to tree species are forest clearance and other forms of habitat loss, direct exploitation for timber and other products and the spread of invasive pests and diseases,” the report said.
By Giada Ferraglioni – giada@carbon-pulse.com
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