Biodiversity can be a good business. Business, on the other side, can be also very good for conservation, argues a recently completed study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on the use of biodiversity businesses for conservation purposes.
The project, funded by the French Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Town and Country Planning (MEEDDAT), assessed IUCN members’ needs and determined how to enhance the success of their efforts. It also allowed the members to share their experiences, lessons learned and challenges encountered in developing such businesses.
The project generated 3 products, available in English and French:
- The publication The Time for Biodiversity Business, which illustrates a selection of the many great businesses developed by the conservation organizations that participated to this study. The twenty-two biodiversity businesses illustrated in this publication range from the more traditional ecotourism operations, to natural ingredients that support the growing wellness industry, to nature focused books. The products are located in all regions of the world. The point of view of 10 experts on issues such as the role of governments; the need to share benefits with communities; the experience of multinationals, complement the stories.
- The power-point presentation A guide to enterprise development for conservation organizations, which provides initial ideas on how to set up biodiversity businesses. This presentation is aimed at conservation organizations that want to start a biodiversity business. Key tips are offered following a sequence of steps that reflect the steps in the development of a business. A list of useful resources is also provided.
- A report on Lessons learned from building biodiversity businesses for conservation, which summarizes the key lessons shared by the participants to this research.
One of the key findings of the project is that there are complementary skills and aims between conservation organizations and the private sector. In fact, private sector partners have played an important role in making many of the enterprises created by conservation organizations commercially successful. These partners have supported the development of such enterprises in many ways, from co-financing to providing technical support as well as by including the products and services in their supply chain.
Closely linked to this project, the Holcim-IUCN relationship has developed a concept focusing on Biodiversity-based microenterprise development (B2MD). The main objective of the concept is to assist and guide multinational companies in collaboration with other entities in planning and managing micro- and small enterprise development projects that create sustainable livelihoods in the community and support biodiversity conservation.
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