By Jennifer Baldwin
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is a biodiversity “superpower” according to a recent report from the United Nations. From tropical rainforests to coral reefs, to high-altitude plains to vast savannas, this region contains a variety of unique ecosystems that support a stunning diversity of flora and fauna. Many small producers and businesses in the region are dependent upon this endowment of natural capital for their livelihoods. But growing natural resource consumption and infrastructure expansion threatens these ecosystems and their inhabitants.
The MIF recently took a look back at our work over twenty years and asked the question: what have we done for biodiversity? The answer is published in a new report, “Biodiversity and Small Business: Lessons Learned from Two Decades of Projects at the Multilateral Investment Fund,” also summarized in this short PowerPoint.
We identified 36 projects (totaling $39 million) and two equity funds (totaling $11.5 million) that had positive impacts on biodiversity. The MIF used three basic approaches to help SMEs improve their use of natural resources:
- Creating economic value for biodiversity (through ecotourism, payments for ecosystem services, and eco-friendly certifications)
- Generating alternative livelihoods (reducing conversion of land for subsistence or commodity agriculture in natural areas in favor of sales of sustainably-harvested products)
- Improving the management of natural resources (through design and implementation of forest management plans).
Projects took place in almost every country, including in 29 national parks and several biodiversity “hotspots.” MIF supported projects on topics including apiculture, transition to organic farming, biologically-safe catch limits for wild-caught fish, aquaculture to reduce pressures on wild fish stocks, sustainable forest management, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, non-timber forest product marketing and business development, and ecotourism, to highlight a view. Short profiles of each project are available in the full report.
By increasing incomes of small producers and businesses while keeping valuable ecosystems in-tact, the report argues, the MIF helped reduce human pressure on natural habitats, and thus its biodiversity. You can check out a video of one such project here, thanks to our staff in Peru!:
Though originally considered tangential benefits of MIF projects, we are currently placing a greater emphasis on measuring positive environmental impacts under our new Natural Capital agenda. MIF’s history piloting private sector solutions to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services and tracking results for small businesses is already proving valuable as the IDB develops its Biodiversity Platform. If your organization has ideas or creative ways to work with small producers or enterprises in Latin America and the Caribbean to reduce environmental impacts, or to identify new business opportunities related to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services, feel free to get in touch through our online application.