The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have inked a partnership for nature-positive investments, environmental sustainability, and action on climate change throughout Asia and the Pacific.
The partnership will focus on biodiversity and ecosystem protection and restoration; nature-based solutions and sustainable infrastructure; and coastal resilience.
ADB and TNC will also cooperate on finance for oceans, freshwater, and biodiversity; sustainable urban planning and development; and gender integration and poverty reduction in nature conservation.
“The coronavirus disease pandemic [Covid-19] has been a wake-up call on the importance of protecting ecosystems and biodiversity to protect humanity. It’s vital that we make the recovery from Covid-19 a green and inclusive recovery,” ADB Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Bambang Susantono said.
“We must take actions that address the root causes of the pandemic and avoid future infectious zoonotic disease outbreaks, promote good health, create jobs that are fit for the future, and support women’s empowerment and economic well-being through nature-positive investments,” he added.
ADB and TNC have agreed to undertake a two-year work plan where they will pilot initiatives aimed at sustainable management of coastal ecosystems and catalyzing investment in development planning tools and digital technologies, which seek improve ecosystem management.
This work plan will contribute to ADB’s Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies.
Further, ADB and TNC will cooperate on technical assistance for coral reef restoration through an innovative financing and insurance initiative.
The partnership will also yield knowledge products and activities that will integrate gender equity in promoting nature preservation and climate action.
“The challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic have also revealed the power and importance of collaboration to address complex issues with the urgency they require,” said TNC Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Morris.
“The Nature Conservancy and the Asian Development Bank are demonstrating to the world the power of cross-sector partnerships and community-based conservation to create a brighter future for people and nature,” she added.
TNC is a charitable environmental organization founded in 1951 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. TNC currently impacts conservation in over 70 countries worldwide and has several national affiliates.
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