What are biodiversity credits?

Although the biodiversity credits market is still in its infancy, there is already growing demand from companies, financial institutions and governments seeking to move beyond traditional carbon credits. Various analyses estimate that, if robust integrity and governance frameworks are developed, this market could reach the order of billions of dollars by 2030 and around 69,000 million dollars by 2050, which would drive large-scale investment in restoration and conservation. This potential for expansion is closely linked to the implementation of the Kunming–Montreal Framework, the adoption of high-integrity principles for biodiversity credits, and the integration of these instruments into the risk and disclosure strategies of companies and the financial system. In this context, stakeholders specialising in methodological architecture and project design can play a decisive role in ensuring that each credit represents a real, measurable and lasting benefit for biodiversity.

A new opportunity to fund biodiversity conservation

Biodiversity credits are certified units that represent positive, measurable and additional benefits for nature, achieved through conservation, sustainable management or ecological restoration. Each credit is based on scientific indicators that reflect improvements in the state of ecosystems, such as increased biological diversity, reduced threats, habitat recovery or enhanced ecological connectivity.
Unlike other instruments, these credits are issued in accordance with standards and methodologies that require traceability, long-term monitoring and independent verification, thereby enabling environmental outcomes to be converted into reliable assets for businesses, investors and governments.

Contribution to the NBSAPs and the Kunming–Montreal Framework

The global biodiversity financing gap is estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars annually, making it necessary to mobilise private capital to complement public and aid resources. Biodiversity credits enable investment to be channelled towards projects that generate verifiable positive impacts on critical ecosystems, transforming conservation into long-term financial flows.
In practice, these instruments can fund habitat banks, restoration projects, the management of productive landscapes and conservation agreements with local communities, creating new sources of income and aligning conservation interests with corporate sustainability strategies.

A growing market between now and 2030 and 2050

National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) are each country’s primary instrument for implementing the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its 2030 targets. Biodiversity credits can become a key tool for operationalising these commitments by linking project indicators to national targets, such as conserving and restoring at least 30 per cent of terrestrial and marine areas, reducing ecosystem loss and improving ecological connectivity.
When designed with robust social and environmental safeguards, these credits can be integrated into biodiversity loss offset policies, nature-based solutions strategies and climate finance programmes, providing traceability and reportability for countries in their reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

To find out more...

A Comprehensive Guide to Voluntary Biodiversity Credits is an in-depth review and technical guide to the emerging field of biodiversity credits. The publication covers the historical development, conceptual foundations, market structures, methodologies and key players in the voluntary biodiversity credit markets. It offers a detailed analysis of the various systems, standards and metrics that currently define the sector, highlighting both the market’s rapid growth and significant challenges, such as fragmentation, a lack of standardisation and the need to differentiate biodiversity credits from carbon offsets. The guide addresses fundamental concepts (such as additionality, permanence and baselines), compares offset-based and contribution-based approaches, and examines cross-cutting issues, such as transparency, the participation of indigenous and local communities, and technological advances in monitoring. Covering numerous standards and methodologies for certifying biodiversity credits worldwide, the publication serves both as an introduction and a reference for professionals working in conservation finance, ecosystem restoration and sustainable investment.