Eco.business Fund Supports 4th ColomBIOdiversidad Festival in Colombia

Eco.business Fund Supports 4th ColomBIOdiversidad Festival in Colombia

To facilitate understanding and awareness of the importance of biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation, the eco.business Fund co-sponsored this recent installment of the festival

As part of the festival, the eco.business Fund sponsored the symposium “Climate Change and Biodiversity.” Three experts analyzed the issue from the perspectives of academia, the public sector, and international cooperation.

The main speaker, Hervé Le Treut, a French academic and climatologist, explained that if the world does not reduce CO2 emissions, projections show that global temperatures will increase by more than two degrees centigrade, which will produce devastating effects–especially for coastal areas–in countries with high temperatures and for the vast majority of ecosystems. Sioux Melo from the National Planning Department of Colombia discussed climate change in the Andean country and specifically the La Niña and El Niño phenomena and their costs for Colombia. Finally, Carl Bernadac from the French Development Agency (FDA) said, “Our metrics blind us. Business accounting does not consider the scarcity of natural resources.”

The conclusion of the three experts is that all countries should invest in climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation, which is the mission of the eco.business Fund. The experts also noted that development-related industries should seek more sustainable ways of producing and contributing to such mitigation and conservation.

Eco.business Fund Chairman Jens Mackensen said: “It’s not only necessary to support climate change mitigation, it is also fundamental that we begin to look at biodiversity and its conservation as development indicators, and that both industry and agricultural companies in the field invest in more sustainable practices.”

The May 17-23 festival was attended by more than 70,000 people from Bogotá, Medellín, and Tuluá. This fourth installment of the event was organized by the non-profit organization Envol Vert and offered cultural spaces, exhibitions, environmental cinema, and workshops for children, along with various symposiums focusing on the most urgent issues affecting biodiversity.

About the eco.business Fund
The eco.business Fund is spearheading the promotion of business practices that contribute to the preservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of natural resources, and climate change mitigation and adaptation through private enterprises. By providing financing for business practices that conserve nature and foster biodiversity, the fund seeks investments with both financial and environmental returns. The fund mainly provides loans to qualified local financial institutions that lend the money to eligible borrowers, which include holders of recognized certifications or those making improvements in line with conservation and biodiversity goals. The fund supports sustainable operations in the sectors of agriculture, fishery, forestry and eco-tourism.

The eco.business Fund leverages contributions from donors, multilateral organizations, development banks and private institutional investors to maximize their reach and impact. The seed capital has been provided by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with KfW as the main promoter. Finance in Motion is an investor. Together with the eco.business Fund, is the eco.business Development Facility, which provides high-impact technical assistance to financial intermediaries and final borrowers.  For more information visit www.ecobusiness.fund.

The cookies we set are only used for the length of your session for the purpose of anonymous, statistical assessments and for improving user-friendliness. We won't set optional cookies unless you enable them. For more detailed information about the cookies we use and how we use them please view our Privacy Notice. Click Accept or Reject to enable or disable cookies.