Sectors

Protecting local species for impact mitigation and creation of new business opportunities

Companies working in the field of tourism, such as the Sol Meliá hotel group, are starting to take biodiversity protection measures such as habitat restoration or endangered species protection not only for the objective of mitigating their ecological impacts, but also to differentiate their brand.

Utilizing financing mechanisms to protect Japanese satoyama biodiversity

Aware of the role finance has to play in the field of biodiversity projects funding, Sompo Japan has developed a loan mechanism that fosters investments in ecological housing and finances a charity fund dedicated to Japanese specific landscape protection.

Preserving water quality in a sustainable manner

Veolia Water, whose mandate is to deliver high quality water to its clients, is actively working with local authorities to protect the site that it depends upon to provide water to the Greater Lyon Urban Community in France. These actions to preserve biodiversity have proved to bring financial benefits to the company, whilst enhancing local biodiversity in the region.

Conserving the Atlantic rainforest in Brazil

Protecting the native forests in Brazil supports Veracel’s long term business perspectives as it enhances the ecosystem services that its operations depend on in the long term. Veracel has therefore engaged in native forest restoration activities in parallel with its usual forestry activities.

Replenishing groundwater through reforestation in Mexico

Operating in a region in Mexico with high water scarcity risk, Volkswagen decided in 2008 to engage in a multistakeholder reforestation program in the region surrounding its factories to allow the ecosystem’s water provisioning function to be restored.

Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM): Mining Association of Canada

http://www.mining.ca/site/index.php/en/towards-sus...

TSM is a set of guiding principles and performance elements that govern key activities of companies in all sectors of the mining and mineral-processing industry. It provides guiding principles on sustainable mining and performance indicators, and has created a Tool for Assessing Biodiversity Conservation Management Performance and a Sustainable Mining Framework.

Tourism Sustainability Group report

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/fil...

The purpose of this report is to stimulate action to make European tourism more sustainable and to maintain this as a continuous process. It is aimed at public bodies, private enterprises, and other organisations at the European, national, regional, and local level. Much of the report encourages joint action between the public and private sectors.

Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT): Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs)

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/flegt.htm

A key element of the FLEGT Action Plan is a voluntary scheme to ensure that only legally harvested timber is imported into the EU from countries agreeing to take part in this scheme.

Katoomba Group - United Nations University

http://www.katoombagroup.org

The Katoomba Group is an international network of individuals working to promote, and improve capacity related to, markets and payments for ecosystem services (PES). The Group serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas and strategic information about ecosystem service transactions and markets, as well as site for collaboration between practitioners on PES projects and programs. UNIFEM works to foster women's empowerment and gender equality throughout the world. UNIFEM has identified four strategic areas that are of critical concern for the achievement of gender equality and women's empowerment and which guide our work:

- Reducing feminized poverty
- Ending violence against women
- Reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and girls
- Achieving gender equality in democratic governance in times of peace as well as war.

The Forests Dialogue

http://environment.yale.edu/tfd/

The Forests Dialogue is an ad hoc initiative that seeks to support and reinforce existing efforts related to forest management by addressing significant obstacles through a constructive dialogue process between all key stakeholders. Key topics include climate change and biodiversity conservation.