8 June 2022 - The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) has joined the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) as a knowledge partner. The Alliance aims to coordinate policies and practices at financial institutions, companies, regulators and policymakers towards the growth and protection of Africa’s natural resources.
In partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) the alliance will act as an African-led collaborative forum for mobilizing the financial community’s response to nature-related risks and opportunities across the continent. The ultimate aim of ANCA is to help grow and protect Africa’s natural capital by shifting financial flows from destructive activities for short-term gain to long-term stewardship of nature for sustainable economic growth.
CISL’s Centre for Sustainable Finance will be supporting ANCA in its efforts to engage with businesses on protecting and restoring nature by helping to develop the frameworks and metrics companies need to implement nature-based decision making in order to help create a nature-positive world. Having developed a handbook for identifying and assessing the impacts of nature-related financial risks, the Centre is well-placed to advise ANCA on the role the finance sector can play in safeguarding nature and biodiversity.
Welcoming the partnership, Dr Nina Seega, Research Director for Sustainable Finance at CISL, said:
“Financial institutions have a critical role to play in helping grow and protect Africa’s natural capital which is in sharp decline. Building on CISL’s long standing stream of work with corporates and financial firms on nature-related financial risks and impacts we are delighted to join ANCA as knowledge partner. Together we will work to ensure the long term growth and protection of Africa’s natural resources.”
ANCA is also working with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) to provide an African voice in the development of its ‘beta’ reporting framework for nature-related risk and opportunities and is taking part in TNFD’s pilot testing programme. CISL’s work with TNFD as a knowledge partner focuses on developing an integrated risk management and disclosure framework for nature-related financial risk.
The need to integrate nature into financial decision-making is particularly acute in Africa as over 60% of the continent’s GDP is highly or moderately dependent on nature and yet between 1970 and 2016 the stock of natural capital for African countries actually fell by an average of 65%. CISL, through its Centre for Sustainable Finance and Centre for Business Transformation, offers a range of resources to support business, policymakers and financial institutions contribute to the transition to a nature positive world.