Building partnerships and driving funding to protect nature

 

Conservation International protects nature for the well-being of humanity. Conservation International-Europe supports this mission through a combination of government partnerships, policy advocacy and industry engagement.

In partnership with committed national governments — including France, Germany, Norway and Sweden—and the European Union, Conservation International-Europe drives funding to protect and restore tropical forests around the world, increase protection and improve management of oceans, and produce and apply science-based evidence to promote nature-based development.

We work with European decision-makers to integrate nature-based solutions in national and international policies and support “green” economic stimulus packages. We help lawmakers design policies that address deforestation and ecosystem degradation, while connecting with international negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

And we collaborate with industry leaders in key commodity sectors — such as coffee and palm oil production — to establish sustainable supply chains that do not contribute to deforestation.

 

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© Benjamin Drummond

A 'package deal' for climate and nature

Recent U.N. climate talks in Dubai saw a new effort to promote investment in an often overlooked — and underfunded — climate solution: nature. The initiative, called “Country Packages for Forests, Nature and Climate,” aims to help countries protect forests, biodiversity and climate at the same time.

“In a nutshell, a ‘Country Package’ is pooled funding from governments, private donors and others to help developing countries with high levels of carbon and biodiversity meet their nature and climate commitments,” said Herbert Lust, senior vice president of Conservation International-Europe.

To jumpstart the initiative, Conservation International partnered with the government of France, the Rob Walton Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, to launch a “Seed Fund” to provide early support and galvanize larger public and private investment. For each Country Package, the Seed Fund intends to start by providing up to about $8 million to an initial four countries — including Ghana, the Republic of Congo and Papua New Guinea — that are home to a wealth of ecosystems and biodiversity.

 

Where we work in Europe

 

News from Europe

Study: ‘Green’ recovery proves better for climate, economies

© Laszlo Novak/Wild Wonders of Europe

Just as countries begin to ease lockdown restrictions and seek ways to revive their broken economies, a new study suggests a greener path to recovery. 

The study’s authors — a group of climate experts and economists — analyzed more than 700 economic stimulus plans created during or following the 2008 financial crisis, the most serious global economic downturns since the Great Depression. 

They discovered that green policies such as those that support renewable energy and energy efficiency resulted in greater immediate economic benefits and higher long-term savings compared with traditional stimulus packages.

The study comes a week after world leaders met virtually for the international summit known as the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, where German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged governments around the world to include climate action in their coronavirus fiscal stimulus packages.

Though global emissions are on track to drop by nearly 8 percent this year, the threat of climate change has not suddenly vanished. Experts caution that once life returns to normal, emissions rates will once again soar — unless governments take steps to curb emissions and invest in clean technologies. 

Along with transitioning away from fossil fuels, the study recommends that countries invest in projects that restore or conserve nature and support climate-friendly farming in rural regions. Not only could investing in the protection of nature provide jobs and bolster the global economy, experts say that it could help prevent future pandemics by limiting people’s contact with wildlife — and the diseases they may carry.

“As we enter an unsteady economic future, it is more important than ever that we invest in prevention strategies that will have an impact,” said Conservation International CEO M. Sanjayan in a recent statement. “Natural climate solutions — the protection, restoration and improved management of land, oceans and forests — have the potential to protect us from not only future disease spread but also the looming crisis of climate change.”  

 

Kiley Price is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates here. Donate to Conservation International here.

Cover image: A wind power station in Germany (© Laszlo Novak/Wild Wonders of Europe)


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