African Development Bank Joins MDBs to Make Development Finance Work for Nature

The note, Identifying Opportunities to Support Biodiversity Objectives Through MDB Operations, was unveiled at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP17 meeting in Yerevan, Armenia.

The African Development Bank Group and other leading multilateral development banks (MDBs) have launched a joint briefing note explaining how development finance can contribute to biodiversity conservation, restoration and enhancement. The publication shows how environmental assessments already used by banks can uncover opportunities to support nature recovery during project design and implementation. Its approach builds on decades of experience in managing biodiversity risks and carrying out environmental and social due diligence.

The note, Identifying Opportunities to Support Biodiversity Objectives Through MDB Operations, was unveiled at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's COP17 meeting in Yerevan, Armenia. It provides practical guidance for development banks and their clients to bring biodiversity considerations into investment decisions and project delivery. The publication connects existing assessment processes with opportunities to improve habitats and ecosystems across development investments.

British International Investment, the UK's development finance institution, has endorsed the approach, becoming the first national development finance institution to do so. Other institutions can join the initiative, opening the door to wider participation in efforts to support biodiversity through development finance. The approach gives participating institutions a shared basis for identifying opportunities that serve clients' ambitions, national biodiversity priorities and global environmental goals.

Three pathways for supporting nature recovery

The briefing identifies three complementary pathways, beginning with shaping project pipelines to include investments that support biodiversity objectives. A second pathway uses environmental and social due diligence to identify opportunities for conservation, restoration and other positive outcomes for nature. The third looks across landscapes and wider systems, helping banks and their clients address environmental challenges that extend beyond individual project sites.

Measuring progress towards global biodiversity goals

The publication supports the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, which calls for urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. The framework encourages financial institutions to align their portfolios with global biodiversity goals, making the ability to identify and measure environmental outcomes an important part of implementation. The note describes established approaches, including habitat quality-hectares and the pressure-state-response framework, that can help connect global commitments with measurable results on the ground.

Maintaining safeguards as banks pursue biodiversity gains

Strong environmental and social standards remain the foundation of MDB operations, including requirements for no net loss of natural habitat and net biodiversity gains where critical habitat is affected. The briefing builds on these requirements, preserving the independence and rigour of environmental and social risk management as banks identify further opportunities to support nature. Fatoumata Bouaré, EBRD Vice-President and Chief Risk Officer, said cooperation between development banks can turn shared commitments into practical results, helping investments in infrastructure, energy, transport and other sectors deliver measurable biodiversity benefits alongside sustainable development.