Non-profit Rainforest Alliance and a Switzerland-based advisory company have announced a partnership to boost investments towards conservation efforts among Mount Kenya’s farming communities.
The organisation will support Clarmondial’s Biosphere Integrity Fund, which was established to scale funding for halting biodiversity and ecosystem services loss, addressing climate change, and supporting locally-led development.
Rainforest Alliance, an organisation active in more than 60 countries worldwide, told Carbon Pulse it provided funds which will be used as a catalyst for attracting financing – even though the amount remains undisclosed.
“The aim of the investment will be to test the strategy and be able to scale and attract additional investments,” Rainforest Alliance’s spokesperson told Carbon Pulse.
While there is interest from companies and government to support the transition to more sustainable landscapes and value chains in the Mount Kenya region, funding is still insufficient, the Rainforest Alliance said in a statement.
“This pilot catalytic investment will demonstrate the potential for social and environmental impact, notably on biodiversity, climate action, and women’s economic empowerment, alongside financial returns in a scalable manner,” the non-profit said.
The Mount Kenya landscape is a biodiversity hotspot home to over 700 plant species and endangered animals, including the black rhino and albino zebra.
With its glacier capped peaks, it is also one of the country’s most important water reservoirs, and serves the local economy as an essential agricultural zone.
Swiss company Clarmondial said it has already identified potential investments and aims to execute a transaction before the end of the year.
“We will support selected local actors in evaluating the business case of transitioning to better practices,” Herbert Hatanga, Clarmondial’s partner for East and Southern Africa, said.
“Providing this pre-investment readiness support will allow the transaction to catalyse further funding that realises sustainable benefits within the landscape.”
The partnership is backed by the IKEA Foundation, which currently funds the Rainforest Alliance’s Mount Kenya Sustainable Landscape and Livelihoods (MSuLLi) programme.
The Rainforest Alliance and Clarmondial already teamed up in 2023 under the Business Case for Collective Landscape Action, a collaboration also involving CDP and Conservation International, supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The initiative was launched to engage companies in halting deforestation in Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, and Indonesia driven by commodities such as coffee, timber, palm oil, rubber, and cocoa.
On Friday, the Rainforest Alliance announced a separate partnership with investor Mirova to scale up nature-based solutions focused on regenerative agriculture around the world.
Speaking to Carbon Pulse last week, Gautier Queru, managing director of natural capital at Mirova said the partnership aims to facilitate access to high-quality projects on the ground, with “the core focus of the partnership more related to the sustainable production of food and fibre rather than on biodiversity credits”.
By Giada Ferraglioni – giada@carbon-pulse.com
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