CAF and O.N.E. Amazon will boost conservation of the Amazon and other ecosystems with financial innovation

In the framework of the COP16 in Cali, CAF -development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean- and O.N.E. Amazon joined forces to protect and conserve the Amazon rainforest, one of the most important and biodiverse natural ecosystems on the planet. The agreement establishes the framework for the parties to collaborate on a tool to transform the Amazon biome, using blockchain, backed by scientifically rigorous data. This innovative initiative will enable the generation of financing in the capital markets for conservation projects.

The Amazon rainforest is vital to global sustainability as it is home to millions of species and indigenous communities, and plays a key role in climate regulation and oxygen production, as well as carbon sequestration. However, it faces growing challenges, such as accelerated deforestation which, if it continues at its current rate, could eliminate 27% of its tree cover by 2030.

This partnership launches a nature-based solution that converts voluntary 30-year Amazon conservation commitments into profitable digital assets for trading on international markets, providing accurate and quality information to investors on protected hectares. The goal is to demonstrate that valuing the protection of the 750 million hectares that make up the Amazon biome can generate a financial return sufficient to remunerate those who are preserving it, and even free up resources for conservation of other crucial ecosystems in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In response to this threat, O.N.E. Amazon and CAF have committed to collaborate and innovate to implement this instrument, coordinate with official authorities, communities and the private sector that intervene and govern the Amazon, promote financial regulation on digital assets, and incentivize the formulation of ecosystem conservation projects.

"This effort is a concrete example of how nature conservation can be valued to generate direct and sustainable financial returns to those who protect ecosystems. This is an initiative that will allow us to show that preserving the planet is a profitable investment and that nature-based solutions have the potential to become concrete and powerful answers for the sustainable development of our countries," said Sergio Diaz-Granados, CAF's executive president.

"Our major intention is for the Amazon to have more value as a rainforest than any other economic activity. That is why we are collaborating with this digital asset, where 70% of the value of these assets goes to an impact fund that makes sustainable investments" mentioned Rodrigo Veloso from O.N.E Amazon.

With this agreement, CAF and O.N.E. Amazon commit to work together to preserve this vital ecosystem, not only for Latin America and the Caribbean, but for the entire world, using innovative, viable, safe, reliable and sustainable market mechanisms in the long term.