Conference highlights the urgency of improving financing to conserve biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean

On May 14 and 15, the Mexican capital hosted the conference “Biodiversity and Nature-Based Solutions: An Opportunity for the Financial Sector.” The event, organized by the Bank of Mexico (BANXICO) and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), had the outstanding collaboration of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Euroclima program; as well as the French Agency for Development (AFD), BIOFIN and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

The event brought together prominent authorities and experts in the field of biodiversity and finance from the region who gathered to address the importance of natural capital and nature-based solutions in the regional financial and economic context. The conference featured panels and keynote addresses that highlighted the need to conserve and restore biodiversity, as well as the urgency of concrete financial actions to achieve these goals.

During the two days of the conference, key topics were addressed such as international efforts in biodiversity restoration and preservation, the dissemination of information about nature and biodiversity, and the importance of integrating biodiversity into public policies on sustainable finance. In addition, metrics and indicators related to nature were presented and financing mechanisms for the restoration and conservation of ecosystems were discussed, with their virtues and limitations.

The panel of conclusions, moderated by representatives of BANXICO, SHCP, BIOFIN, AFD, CEPAL and GIZ, highlighted the importance of nature-based solutions as an important instrument to address the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss in the region . The need to better understand investment needs in biodiversity and its implications of scale and temporality was highlighted. Likewise, the urgency of having more and better data and dependencies information was emphasized, particularly the convenience of expanding the georeferencing of financed assets in regions of high biodiversity.

Among the main conclusions, the need to strengthen collaboration between the financial sector, governments and civil society to mobilize resources and promote investments in biodiversity conservation and restoration projects was highlighted. In addition, the importance of continuing to integrate environmental and social considerations in more detail into financial decisions and of promoting transparency and disclosure of information related to nature and biodiversity was emphasized.

In summary, the conference “Biodiversity and Nature-Based Solutions: An Opportunity for the Financial Sector” was a space for the exchange of knowledge and experiences on the relationship between biodiversity, climate change and the financial sector in the region.