Development finance offers practical pathway to nature recovery and biodiversity gains

• Multilateral development banks launch joint initiative at CBD COP17 in Yerevan
• Associated publication highlights how due diligence can enhance nature recovery and biodiversity gains in order to conserve and restore
• Pathways aim to translate global biodiversity commitments into measurable project outcomes

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and other leading multilateral development banks (MDBs) have launched a joint initiative to leverage their environmental due diligence to actively contribute to biodiversity conservation, restoration and enhancement rather than merely avoid environmental harm.

The associated publication, Identifying Opportunities to Support Biodiversity Objectives Through MDB Operations, was unveiled at the Seventeenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia .

Drawing on decades of experience in biodiversity risk management and environmental and social due diligence, the MDBs demonstrate in the publication how the same processes used to identify and manage biodiversity risks can also help to uncover opportunities to conserve, restore and enhance nature.

It sets out practical ways in which development banks and their clients can integrate biodiversity considerations into project design and implementation, helping development investments contribute to nature recovery.

The initiative includes three complementary pathways for achieving biodiversity gains:

• shaping project pipelines to support biodiversity objectives
• leveraging environmental and social due diligence to identify opportunities for positive outcomes for nature
• promoting landscape-, seascape- and system-level approaches that address broader environmental challenges.

The initiative supports the implementation of the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which calls for urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and encourages financial institutions to align their portfolios with global biodiversity goals.

By demonstrating how biodiversity gains can be identified through existing project preparation and due diligence processes, and measured using established approaches such as habitat quality-hectares and the pressure-state-response framework, the initiative and its related publication aim to help translate global commitments into practical, measurable outcomes on the ground.

The initiative emphasises that robust environmental and social standards remain the foundation of EBRD and other MDB operations, providing the basis for responsible investment while also helping clients to identify opportunities to advance national biodiversity priorities and global goals, without compromising the independence and rigour of environmental and social risk management. The EBRD is piloting this approach in its recent investments in Dama Solar in Romania, the ELMED subsea power cable between Tunisia and Italy and the Chișinău Urban Enhancement Project in Moldova.

Fatoumata Bouaré, Vice President and Chief Risk Officer at the EBRD, said: “Nature loss is a global challenge that requires collective action. This joint initiative demonstrates the value of MDB cooperation in turning shared ambition into practical solutions that can be applied across sectors and countries. By working together, we can help clients identify opportunities not only to avoid harm but also to deliver measurable benefits for biodiversity. What is particularly powerful about this approach is its focus on real projects and real outcomes, showing how investments in infrastructure, energy, transport and other sectors can contribute to nature recovery while delivering sustainable development objectives.”