Side Event

Measuring and mainstreaming natural capital and leveraging biodiversity finance

Organizer
EUROPEAN COMMISSION, WORLD BANK, UNEP/TEEB, UNDP

Date and Time
17 October 2012 18:15 - 19:45

Meeting
Eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 11)

Organised by the European Commission, the World Bank, the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme, this event will present and discuss three major initiatives aimed at measuring and reflecting nature’s capital in national decision-making and at addressing the need for significantly increased biodiversity finance. These three initiatives are poised to make a significant contribution to the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, and are namely: Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES), managed by the World Bank; The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) National Implementation: Reflecting the Value of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Policymaking, managed by UNEP; and Building Transformative Policy and Financing Frameworks to Increase Investment in Biodiversity Management, managed by UNDP. Focusing in particular on the views of partner countries, the event will explore the challenges encountered in mainstreaming the value of biodiversity and ecosystems into decision-making and in integrating natural capital into national accounting frameworks; and provide a discussion forum on how bottom-up assessments can provide realistic and robust country-level estimates on finance needs and on the roll out of financial mechanisms that can effectively close the finance gap. The discussions will explore how effective mainstreaming can reduce the cost of biodiversity management and free resources. It will also consider how the respective approaches need to be adapted to fit specific country needs and circumstances, and how they can assist countries with the implementation of the Convention.