The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is establishing its first biodiversity fund. Further, they plan on approaching one of the world’s biggest dedicated environmental funds later this year to boost its size.
DBSA’s green fund, established by the South African government’s environment department, will offer $2.7 millions of seed capital to the biodiversity fund.
The state-owned bank would then target the Global Environment Facility, which provides a family of funds dedicated to confronting biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution, and strains on land and ocean health, and private investors for additional financing.
While significant investment has been made in climate projects combatting global warming, efforts to preserve biodiversity have lagged. The DBSA aims to change this trend.
Read more: WWF urges central banks in Africa to integrate green practices into financial regulation
In an interview with Bloomberg, Michael Hillary, the DBSA’s group executive for financing operations, said the fund is one of “the first real big steps to get this stuff going”. They added, “At the end of this year, we will start getting more traction. Wealth funds are recognizing how critical biodiversity funds are.”
DBSA also issued a white paper to guide investors to integrate biodiversity concerns into their decision-making.
The paper highlights, “As major financiers of economic activity, banks must be at the forefront of shifting financial flows to halt and reverse natural loss. They need a reliable, quantitative way to measure the impact and dependencies of their operations and portfolios on biodiversity, reduce risks, and promote nature-positive outcomes to build resilience.”
