Nature based solutions

Explanation

Nature based solutions

No evidence of nature based solutions being integrated across IsDB’s lending.

Forests

Under the IsDB Sustainable Finance Framework, all IsDB operations are subject to SDGs and do no harm criteria. Furthermore, the “green” part of the Sustainable Finance Framework applies to green financing. The following exclusions apply to IsDB green and social financing:

• any activities involving deforestation;
• palm oil related activities.

Recommendation: The IsDB Sustainable Finance Framework should be expanded in scope to cover all IsDB financing and operations.

No further public information was found for the IsDB for this metric. Further information and clarification from IsDB would be welcome in this area.

Agriculture

The IsDB Policy on Agriculture and Rural Development (approved December 2018) recognizes the linkage between the agriculture sector and its role in combating climate change, through both mitigation and adaptation. The sector policy proposals include, and it promotes, “climate-smart agriculture, an agricultural practice that sustainably increases productivity, enhances resilience (adaptation), reduces or removes greenhouse gases (mitigation) where possible, mitigates land and soil degradation, and enhances achievement of national food security and development goals”.

IsDB will encourage climate-smart agriculture, and private sector-led value chain development that can scale it up. Special attention will be devoted to “resilience-building in fragile high-risk and low-capacity countries. Integrated natural resources management that caters for nature protection and biodiversity conservation was identified as an integral part of the sector policy”. IsDB aims at increasing adaptation capacity of agricultural systems and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through nature-based solutions and new appropriate technologies.

IsDB states that “many countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, have limited human and weak institutional capacities to innovate and build resilient agricultural systems. This needs to be addressed in a concerted manner”.

Biodiversity

Clarification from IsDB would be welcome on its commitments in the area of biodiversity.