Background:

BCA, IAPB and WEF will be presenting the High-level Principles for Integrity and Governance of the Biodiversity Credit Market. These principles come after months of collaborative research, analysis and stakeholder consultations through a dedicated working group. The High-level Principles Working Group is a collaboration between the Biodiversity Credit Alliance, the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits and the World Economic Forum that aimed to synthesize and build consensus on high-level principles to guide the development of the market and build a common understanding of good practice. The principles are an up-to-date consolidation of all major integrity guidelines and have been formally adopted by multiple parties signalling a unified message to the market. The principles provide a set of guidelines for high-quality biodiversity credits that will guide standard setters and project developers and give confidence to buyers.

• BCA background: The BCA is a voluntary international alliance that brings together diverse stakeholders to support the realisation of the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework.
• IAPB background: The IAPB is an independent and global initiative that aims to help unlock significant financial flows to nature through the development of high integrity Biodiversity Credit Markets.
• WEF background: The World Economic Forum provides a global, impartial and not-for-profit platform for meaningful connection between stakeholders to establish trust and build initiatives for cooperation and progress.

Objectives:

• Primary objective is to present the High-level Principles.
• Emphasise the collaborative nature of the creation of the principles, and that they draw upon the widespread commonalities of best practices from the market.
• Highlight how the principles are meant as a go-to guidance for project developers on high quality credits.
• Raise confidence of potential investors by highlighting the agreements in the market and having a go-to set of principles to carry out due diligence against.
• Announce the launch of a Working Group on pioneering and independent review mechanism for biodiversity credits (akin to ICVCM)

Desired outcome:

The panel discussion aims to position the BCA-IAPB-WEF jointly produced “High-level Principles for Integrity and Governance” as the definitive guide for project developers, instilling confidence in investors by showcasing market alignment on integrity principles. Key topics will include equity, inclusion, robust verification, and governance, promoting a comprehensive understanding and commitment to high-quality biodiversity credits. The panel will also address ongoing efforts on the demand side, signalling a holistic approach to market development and encouraging stakeholders to adopt these guidelines for unified and effective biodiversity credit initiatives.