Georgia takes lead in assessing natural capital…

Georgia is one of the pilot countries that have volunteered to assess its natural capital with the ultimate objective of valuing the services provided by the country’s ecosystems. “Bringing the wealth of the natural world to the attention of decision-makers will pave the way to better informed choices and policies,” said Pavan Sukhdev, chair of the TEEB Advisory Board at the launch of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Scoping Study in Tbilisi.

The TEEB Scoping Study for Georgia--a joint effort of the Ministry of Environment, UN Environment Program, and WWF Caucasus--is an important step in valuing ecosystems and biodiversity. Identifying five core sectors of Georgian economy--energy, tourism, agriculture, mining, and forestry--the study highlights their dependence on natural capital and related services.

“Considering the rapid development of Georgia’s economy, the TEEB initiative is an effective instrument to help conserve ecosystems while promoting sustainable growth,” said environment minister Khatuna Gogaladze at the launch event on Oct. 1.

Georgia’s agriculture sector employs 53 percent of the workforce and is a main vehicle for rural development. The sector’s long-term sustainability, however, faces challenges associated with reduction of genetic diversity, land degradation due to salinization, and soil erosion. Crop yields are at risk if incentives are not provided to promote, for example, limited pesticide and chemical fertilizer use, soil conservation, and crop rotation.

This first scoping exercise recommends the development of TEEB for Agriculture, a sectoral examination that addresses policies to ensure food security, improve agricultural biodiversity, reduce the extent of land degradation, and maintain agriculture as a strong economic sector, according to a news release from UNEP.

“Nature plays a vital role in sustaining Georgia’s important economic sectors and policy priorities. For example, with its abundance of rivers and varying terrain, the hydropower sector has immense potential. The sector depends, however, on both quality and quantity of freshwater, guaranteed by forests upstream. This is another call for protected ecosystems that would benefit us all,” said Yolanda Kakabadse, president of WWF International.

There have been steps taken toward ecosystem service valuation in neighboring Armenia, with pilot programs initiated by UNEP and REC Caucasus. Some of the areas targeted for Georgia were the subject of my capstone research which focused on the link between natural capital and the tourism, beverage, and hydropower sectors of Armenia’s economy. The main concepts were outlined in my 2011 talk at TEDx Yerevan on Redefining Our Economic Systems.

Innovate to meet the challenges of conservation...

From the creation of the Boston Common in 1634 to the emergence of landscape-scale conservation initiatives in the 21st century, innovators have risen to address seemingly intractable land, water, and biodiversity conservation challenges.

It will require our best talent, technology, financial tools, and social innovation to tackle today's global conservation challenges, says Jim Levitt, director of the Program on Conservation Innovation at the Harvard Forest and a fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

In this talk from TEDx BeaconStreet, "Innovate to Meet the Challenges of Conservation," Jim connects examples from successful conservation initiatives to emerging paradigms for public, private, and global cooperation that point the way for enduring conservation.

Malua BioBank makes forest conservation a commercially competitive land use…

The Malua BioBank is a unique public-private partnership for investing in forest conservation. “Public and philanthropic funding for conservation has not kept pace with the rate of biodiversity loss. Attaching value to conservation will harness private sector finance to help fill this funding gap,” according MaluaBank.com.

The site is the 34,000 ha Malua Forest Reserve in Sabah, Malaysia. Sitting adjacent to one of the region’s last pristine lowland tropical rainforests, the Malua BioBank provides a buffer between virgin rainforest and oil palm plantations. The area is home to one of the world’s highest concentrations of orangutans, as well as clouded leopards and pygmy elephants.

The Sabah government has licensed conservation rights for 50 years to the Malua BioBank and a private investor has committed up to $10 million for the rehabilitation of the Malua Forest Reserve. The investor is the Eco Products Fund, a private equity investment vehicle jointly managed by New Forests and Equator Environmental.

You can purchase Biodiversity Conservation Certificates
to support rainforest conservation at ProtectMalua.com

The Malua BioBank sells Biodiversity Conservation Certificates, with each certificate representing 100 square meters of forest restoration and protection. Revenues generated from the sale of BCC’s will be used to recover costs incurred and to endow a trust fund set up to manage the Malua BioBank. Any profit will be shared between the forest management license holder (a foundation established by the government to improve the livelihoods of local citizens) and the investor.

The government has committed to halting logging in the Malua Forest Reserve for the next 50 years. This agreement commits the government to implementing a management plan under the monitoring of the Malua Trust, which will be funded by revenues from BCC sales.

“The ultimate aim of the Malua BioBank is to shift land use towards rainforest restoration and preservation, catalyzing a new economy of conservation. The sale of certificates will make rainforest rehabilitation and conservation a commercially competitive land use,” according to MaluaBank.com.