Category: Conservation Finance

Financing Blue Carbon with Insurance

Mangroves in the Philippines. Photo by Esther Anne F. Bueno.

The Restoration Insurance Service Company (RISCO) is an innovative finance project aimed at investing in blue carbon in marine and coastal ecosystems, particularly in the Philippines. The project is part of the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance and aims to protect 4,000 hectares of mangrove forest through conservation and restoration efforts in partnership with local communities.

RISCO’s innovative approach involves identifying areas where mangroves provide high flood reduction benefits and modeling the value of those benefits.

This innovative finance project highlights the potential for financial solutions to address environmental challenges, such as the protection and restoration of mangrove ecosystems. By partnering with local communities and generating revenue from blue carbon credits, RISCO aims to create a sustainable model for mangrove conservation and restoration.

Learn more here.

Treasures of Cambodia: Central Cardamom Mountain National Park

cardamom-mountains-cambodia
Central Cardamom Mountain National Park. Photo by Conservation International.

Central Cardamom Mountain National Park, over 400,000 ha (more than five times the size of Singapore) is one of the largest protected areas in Asia. As the primary watersheds for 1/3 of Cambodia, this area provides ecosystem services namely water, for more than 30,000 people (directly downstream) and 100,000 within 5 km, as well as supports food production and aquaculture in the lowland, ensuring food security for Cambodian people.

The economic valuation of land resources of Cardamom Mountains is estimated to be more than US$ 5 billion, including ecosystem services and goods provided, including timber, agricultural land, watersheds function, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and tourism (Soussan and Sam, 2011). Read some excerpts of the study in ‘The values of land resources in the Cardamom Mountains in Cambodia’.