Sweden has announced plans to launch a global standard for Biocredits in production landscapes at COP16, the UN Biodiversity Conference, marking a significant milestone in efforts to advance new solutions to address the global biodiversity crisis.
The Global Biocredit Standard has been developed through broad collaboration between researchers, forest owners, and industry, and is aimed at ensuring quality for both buyers and sellers as adoption of new tools for financing nature conservation expands.
The need for conservation efforts has never been greater, and public funding alone – both in Sweden and globally – is insufficient to address the current crisis.
Biocredits offer a way for businesses to contribute to preserving and enhancing biodiversity, and the Swedish Biocredit Alliance has established a unique standard to catalyse adoption of biocredits in production landscapes, in particular.
The Global Biocredit Standard is a global framework designed to ensure quality and transparency for both buyers and sellers by requiring third-party verification and additionality, among other criteria.
It will be presented at COP16 by Aleksandra Holmlund, CEO of Qarlbo Biodiversity, who led the SLU research project where the concept of biocredits was first developed and now serves as one of the project’s main partners.
Jan Wejdmark, founder of the World Forest Forum, which initiated the Swedish Biocredit Alliance, said, “Sweden has a solid foundation for establishing a credible and transparent biocredit market, but the essential structural prerequisites for a truly functioning market have been lacking to date. This decision marks a significant first step towards that goal.”
Biocredits entail compensating landowners for conservation efforts based on an established project plan, with ongoing monitoring to secure and verify the value for buyers. The new global standard is targeted at production landscapes, meaning land previously used for production, with an initial focus on forest resources.
Aleksandra Holmlund said, “The work that the Swedish Biocredit Alliance has done with this standard is truly unique on a global scale, as reflected by the comprehensive, peer-reviewed process required to validate broad consensus.
“Our focus at Qarlbo Biodiversity is on advancing innovative solutions with lasting impact, driven by investments in nature-positive forestry and biodiversity monitoring and reporting technology globally.
“Adoption of these solutions relies in large part on common understanding and accountability in practice, and integrating this standard and the Swedish Biocredit Alliance’s forthcoming project registry into our Biocredit projects will be critical for bringing us one step forward in pursuit of our ambitious global goals.”
Leading partners in the Swedish Biocredit Alliance initiative include the World Forest Forum, Qarlbo Biodiversity, Södra Skogsägarna, Norra Skog, and Umeå Municipality. Numerous additional [JK2] organizations and companies are members and actively involved in various working groups, and the collaboration is open to anyone who wants to contribute to the project’s goals.
A spokesperson for the World Forest Forum said, “The standard is a monumental milestone in creating a transparent and secure market for global Biocredit transactions. The next step involves developing a clear process for applying and approving various methodologies against the standard, thereby stimulating a viable commercial market. The Swedish Biocredit Alliance will continue working on this initiative, including by establishing a future organisation to manage and develop the standard.”