World leaders urged to back innovative nature financing at One Forest Summit in Gabon

Embargoed: 00:01 UTC+1, Wednesday, March 1, 2023

LIBREVILLE, March 1, 2023 - Supporting and scaling up innovative nature finance, including biodiversity-positive carbon credits, and nature certificates or credits, could help close the significant gap in funding for the safeguarding and restoration of biodiversity and benefit Indigenous People and local communities, according to a new report launched by the Global Environment Facility and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

Innovative Finance for Nature and People

Forests, particularly primary tropical forests, are critical natural capital for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement, and the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, especially in ways that benefit host countries and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). The One Forest Summit in Libreville on 1-2 March 2023, co-hosted by France and Gabon, provides an opportunity to ensure that these ecosystems are safeguarded and restored for their environmental, economic, cultural, and social benefits.