Cali, November 2024. As part of COP16, the event “How to Achieve the 2030 Biodiversity Financing Target: Challenges and Opportunities” brought together prominent leaders and experts in conservation and sustainable finance. This event, organized within the framework of the Conference of the Parties on Biodiversity (COP16), focused on exploring how ecological infrastructure and biodiversity credits can play a crucial role in mobilizing private investment for biodiversity conservation.

The event featured distinguished participants, including Mauricio Cabrera, Vice Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia; Rita Mesquita, Secretary for Biodiversity at Brazil’s Ministry of Environment; Pavan Sukhdev, founder and CEO of GIST Impact; Sandy Sheard, Head of the IAPB Secretariat; Simon Zadek, Co-Executive Director of Nature Finance, Senior Advisor to TNFD, and Head of the UN Secretary-General’s Task Force on Digital Financing of Sustainable Development Goals; Sandra Valenzuela, Executive Director of WWF Colombia; and Caroline Van Leenders, Manager at the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.

 
Participants delved into the challenges and opportunities of biodiversity financing in Colombia and discussed the steps necessary to achieve conservation goals by 2030. Terrasos CEO, Mariana Sarmiento, emphasized the importance of an infrastructure-focused approach to biodiversity, stating: "Visualizing biodiversity as infrastructure is essential to ensuring its long-term protection. Through biodiversity credits, we can channel investments that benefit both local communities and the environment".

Attendees also explored advancements in biodiversity credit methodologies and debated the regulatory frameworks needed to facilitate high-impact conservation financing. The event fostered a collaborative atmosphere among key public, private, and civil society actors, who shared ideas to build a future where biodiversity is protected and supported by sustainable investments.

This dialogue reaffirmed Terrasos’ and its partners’ commitment to driving innovative solutions that promote environmental and economic sustainability, reinforcing the role of biodiversity as fundamental infrastructure for communities and the planet.

 
According to current projections, more than $700 billion annually is needed for conservation efforts to succeed. Bridging this gap is essential to meeting international commitments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Leveraging tools like biodiversity credits is seen as a key part of the solution.

 
Biodiversity is the fabric of life, forming the foundation of natural systems that provide countless resources and enhance societal well-being. Ecological infrastructure—a network of natural systems delivering key ecological functions—supports all economic processes and ensures ecosystem sustainability, resilience, and health.

 
Closing the Biodiversity Financing Gap

For the past decade, Terrasos has focused on transforming biodiversity conservation into a market-based approach to mobilize private sector investments, addressing the financing deficit needed to protect our natural world and ensuring long-term sustainability. They believe that framing the ecological and biodiversity crisis within an infrastructure model is fundamental to reshaping investment approaches for the conservation and restoration of critical ecosystems.

 
Biodiversity credits offer a sustainable, long-term alternative for organizations to invest in nature-positive actions that are traceable, transparent, and backed by a robust legal, technical, and financial structure.

 
This event served as a platform to explore and define the essential elements required to establish a high-integrity biodiversity credit market, foster synergies, and engage stakeholders to identify opportunities, challenges, and mechanisms for addressing biodiversity credits across sectors. These efforts aim to guarantee ecological infrastructure that ensures the well-being of all.

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For more information, contact Giovanni Fonseca Duffó at [email protected] or +57-316-834-6115.