reporter
Name Affiliation Title Kotaro Taniguchi Counselor and Deputy Director, Sustainability Promotion Office, Planning Department, JICA
summary
Date: November 17, 2025
Organized by International Development Finance Institutions Club (IDFC)
Name of venue (pavilion name)：IDFC Pavilion
speaker
Name Affiliation Title Mustafa Quresh International Development Finance Club (IDFC) Facility Director João Rodrigues Benevides Brazilian Development Association (ABDE) Director Marie Tremollet World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Programme Officer for Regional Cooperation in the Guiana Shield, WWF-French Guiana Najma Mohamed Head of Nature-based Solutions, United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) Peter Hilliggs Chief Climate Officer, KfW Kyosuke Inada Special Advisor, Sustainability Promotion, JICA Atika Ben Maid Deputy Head of Climate and Nature, French Development Agency (AFD) Nabil Moura Qadri Deputy Managing Director for Environment, Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES)
Background and Objectives
…Development Bank’s strategic role in expanding nature-based solutions (NbS) and contributing to climate adaptation.
Present a case study on mobilizing funds for NbS-related projects through the Development Bank network
・Share concrete experiences and lessons learned from Africa, Asia, and Europe, with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean.
Facilitate dialogue on key barriers and opportunities for mainstreaming NbS into development banking
Explore synergies between NbS, climate adaptation and mitigation, and biodiversity protection, and highlight their contribution to achieving the GBF (Global Biodiversity Framework) and the Paris Agreement
Showcase innovative ways to make NbS projects bankable, including partnerships with the private sector, blended finance, green bonds, and biodiversity funds
Position IDFC as a driver of natural capital and climate finance
Contents
At the beginning of the session, IDFC pointed out that climate change and biodiversity are closely related and that an integrated approach is important, that financial mobilization for biodiversity is very limited compared to that for climate change, that PDBs can contribute both in terms of finance and capacity building, and that private sector funds are also expected to be attracted. The PDB can contribute both financially and in capacity building, and is expected to attract private sector funds.
The ABDE then pointed out that nature-based solutions (NbS) are not a top-down approach, and that it is important to involve local governments, traditional communities, and civil society, and to connect local voices to the world by linking local issues to global issues and scaling up. He then introduced examples of positive impact on people’s lives through government policy and technical assistance, private sector funding, and local initiatives.
In the first half of the panel discussion, WWF presented a case study of NbS that not only protected forests but also the livelihoods and culture of indigenous people; UNEP-WCMC presented a data-based NbS initiative that ensured community participation and enabled PDBs to make appropriate financing decisions; and ABDE from the ABDE presented a case study that involved stakeholders from academia, community, public institutions, private sector, and civil society, and led to increased community engagement through the use of seed money for innovation.
In the latter half of the panel discussion, the panelists exchanged opinions on the role of PDBs, with KfW emphasizing that 100% grants do not work for community-driven projects and the importance of ensuring both public benefit and financial return for the benefit of both communities and PDBs. JICA introduced that the law has been amended to allow for the expansion of financial instruments such as bond acquisition and credit guarantees, and that the JICA Biodiversity-FIT tool is under development. He also introduced the case study of India, where the AFD has planted trees to prevent landslides, the case study of NbS in Southeast Asia co-financed by ADB, and the case studies of carbon credit, blue carbon, and sustainability-linked loans. BNDES introduced a forest conservation project co-financed by KfW, a coral reef restoration project, and a project using concessional climate funds.
Finally, the moderator reaffirmed that NbS has become a central proposition for development, financing, and residency, that science-based data and local community participation are important, and that the PDB is taking initiatives to increase project effectiveness.
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