“CLEAR PROGRESS MADE IN EUROPEAN BANK INVESTMENTS IN BIODIVERSITY”

London, Tilburg, 8 November 2005

On 3 November 2005, the European Task Force for Business, Banking and Biodiversity met in EBRD Headquarters in London. The meeting concluded that there is an investment market for biodiversity relevant project and programmes and that a number of leading banks are interested to promote biodiversity schemes.

Task Force Chairman, Sir Brian Unwin, the President of the European Centre for Nature Conservation (ECNC), said: “By bringing together representatives of European governments, public and private banks, the European Commission, the PEBLDS Secretariat, and several international NGO’s, the Task Force is now making excellent progress in developing concrete biodiversity investment schemes for a number of European countries”.

The Task Force welcomed the presentation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development about the outcome of a scooping study on biodiversity investments in Poland, which was implemented by Flora Fauna International with support of Stichting Doen. The EBRD presented a proposal for a Biodiversity Finance Facility, which should mobilise investments in biodiversity and assist in bringing together demand and supply.

The Task Force also welcomed the presentation of the Hungarian government and ECNC on the pilot project in Hungary on biodiversity investments that is currently being explored by the European Investment Bank, the Hungarian Development Bank, The Hungarian Ministry of Environment and Water, and ECNC-European Centre for Nature Conservation. EIB indicated its willingness to contribute via a global loan to a regional biodiversity fund, provided that biodiversity investments could be mainstreamed with the bank’s lending criteria and requirements and provided that enough investors could be attracted.

The representative of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment said that the European Commission is in the process of increasing it efforts to integrate biodiversity into business activities and to address the current constraints. She welcomed the progress made by the Task Force in moving the issue of banking and biodiversity, and in particular welcomed the proposal to give Technical Assistance to both enterprises and banks in developing and funding pro-biodiversity businesses. EBRD, ECNC and the Swiss and Dutch governments were requested by the Task Force to elaborate the proposal in more detail in consultation with the European Commission, in collaboration with FFI and RSPB representatives at the Task Force meeting.