The Institute of Bankers (IOB), one of the BIOFIN-EU partners, organized the webinar “What is Biodiversity Finance?”, together with field experts and consortium members, Dr. Mark van Nieuwstadt (Naturalis), Dr. John Garvey (University of Limerick), and Dr. Anna Biasin (Etifor Srl). During the event, we explored the concept of biodiversity, its impact on the financial sector, and potential interventions, such as Nature-based Solutions (NbS), aiming at the restoration and promotion of biodiversity. This blog post series aims to give a complete overview of the topics discussed during the webinar. Each post focuses on different aspects, ensuring a comprehensive discussion on “What is Biodiversity Finance”.
With over 550 participants, the event provided an opportunity to discuss crucial topics. Dr. Mark van Nieuwstadt opened the session by explaining the meaning of biodiversity and why its protection is essential for our survival. He emphasized how the health of biodiversity is directly tied to our quality of life and the stability of the economic system. While, Dr. John Garvey explained how biodiversity loss affects the financial system and highlighted the importance for financial institutions to integrate nature-related risk assessments into their operations. This approach would encourage the inclusion of NbS in investments and mainstream support for nature.
Dr. Anna Biasin focused on interventions that can restore and promote biodiversity, while also generating additional benefits. She introduced Nature-based Solutions (NbS), which—simplifying the definition from UNEA (2022)—are actions that support or leverage natural processes to address social, environmental, and economic challenges. These solutions range from protecting and creating parks and forests to restoring wetlands, coasts, and rivers, and even include green infrastructure (e.g., green walls and roofs). NbS are important because they provide vital ecosystem services—benefits that nature offers to humanity—that can mitigate climate hazards, promote resilience, improve human well-being, and support biodiversity. Traditionally, these projects have been funded by public resources, but to meet global goals regarding climate change, biodiversity, and land degradation, investments in NbS need to be tripled by 2030 and quadrupled by 2050. This will require a significant financial commitment from both the public sector and, crucially, the private sector (UNEP, 2023). She also presented a successful case of a public-private partnership in the development of NbS, developed by Etifor Srl, the BIOCLIMA initiative.
BIOFIN-EU aims to mobilize mainstream financial resources to slow and reverse biodiversity loss. In line with the EU Green Deal and the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (SFT), we seek to provide tools and solutions to engage the financial sector in supporting nature-positive economic activities.
“What is Biodiversity Finance?” Webinar – Key points (part 2)
