The Nature Pledge: Biodiversity and Sustainability in Asia and the Pacific

To address biodiversity loss, climate change, poverty and inequality, trillions of dollars in public and private financing are required.  And yet the world seems to be churning faster than ever before with daily setbacks at both national and international levels. Some observers say that meeting our sustainable development ambitions are increasingly unlikely under current political and economic circumstances. Is a full-fledged revolution in sustainable financing needed? The private sector has NOT been sitting on the sidelines, but can it do more? Can it afford not to?Join us for Episode 12, "Financing Sustainability in a Time of Uncertainty" and hear from Sebnem Sener, UNDP’s Head of Private Finance for the SDGs, as she answers the most difficult questions:1. Are we simply tinkering at the edges of the triple planetary crisis with sustainable finance, or addressing systemic risks?   2. If sustainable finance is both profitable and important, why does it need to be promoted? 3. With trade tensions and economic certainty running so high, are the best days for sustainable finance behind us?

Social entrepreneurship has taken off in the region, including in China, with remarkable energy and results. Governments and private organizations are taking note and increasingly supporting this sector through funding and enabling policies.How might impact-focused entrepreneurs change the shape of nature conservation and sustainable use in China and elsewhere? What does their rise mean for the “sustainability recession” we seem to be going through?  In Episode 11, we will hear from Richard Brubaker, an influential voice in both sustainability and social entrepreneurship circles in the region, but especially in China. As the Managing Director of Collective Responsibility, a Shanghai-based consultancy, Richard has worked in Asia for the last 30 years with a diverse range of stakeholders on sustainability—from governments and multinational corporations to startups and academic institutions.

Malaysia is a study in contrasts: a mega-diverse country at the verge of reaching advanced economy status. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the country has transformed in more ways than one over the course of its development journey. Edmund Bon, the Chair and Malaysia representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Committee on Human Rights provides insights into how attitudes in his country have changed towards nature, IPLCs and human rights, and how businesses have adapted. Evidencing a value-shift, the country has recently adopted a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAPBHR) which contains strong environmental provisions. How can this NAPBHR instrument be used to halt and reverse biodiversity loss? What role does ASEAN have to play? And how do bring human rights and environmental sustainability work closer together? Join us for an illuminating discussion with Edmund Bon, on these and other issues, on the newest episode of the Nature Pledge.

A recent World Economic Forum survey ranks biodiversity loss as one of the top threats to our global economy over the next ten years. Yet, a 700 billion USD annual financing gap to halt and reserve nature loss persists. Why the disconnect between the recognition of the risks to our economies and the rate and size of investments made in nature? Are the returns on investment in nature too small? Is the opportunity to invest in nature misunderstood?  To help clarify the picture, Matteo Marinelli, the Asia Pacific Lead for Sustainable Finance at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) based in Singapore, provides a wide range of insights on the complex landscape of biodiversity finance.

Dr. Surya Deva, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development is using his position to advance a planet-centered, participatory approach to development that, “prioritizes ecological sustainability and human participation, moving away from anthropocentric, growth-focused models.” How well is his message being received? What countries are buying it? And how might this novel interpretation of the right to development help us reach the aspirations of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework?