View source for BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL)

{{Climate initiative
|Name of initiative=BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL)
|LPAA initiative=No
|NAZCA Initiative=No
|Website address=http://www.biocarbonfund-isfl.org/
|Starting year=2004
|Secretariat=World Bank (Carbon Finance Unit) - Dan Radack (Fund Manager); dradack@worldbankgroup.org
|Organisational structure=The Initiative’s efforts and activities are focused at the country level. Contributors will have the flexibility to support any of the country programs being developed under the Initiative. A decision-making body will be established for each country program for contributor governments and the World Bank to progress programming efficiently on the ground. Not all contributors need to participate in all the country programs; however, only those contributors who have contributed to a country program will be part of the decision-making process for that program.  

At the Initiative-level, contributors work together on the selection of country programs and exchanging lessons between them.

At the level of the country programs, country-specific advisory bodies composed of leading experts from government, civil society and the private sector with a range of relevant knowledge may provide technical input into the program design and development of a specific country program, and work with recipient government to catalyze the implementation of programs.
|Geographical coverage=Global,North America,Asia and the Pacific,Latin America and The Caribbean,Africa,Western Europe,Eastern Europe,
|Type of initiative=Implementation,
|Primary function=Fundraising / Financing
|Secondary functions=Technical operational implementation (e.g. construction or improvement of physical facilities),
|Type of lead organisation=International organisation
|Location/Nationality of lead organisation=United States of America
|LPAA Theme Transport=No
|LPAA Theme Agriculture=Yes
|LPAA Theme Forestry=Yes
|LPAA Theme Business=No
|LPAA Theme Financial institutions=Yes
|LPAA Theme Buildings=No
|LPAA Theme Industry=No
|LPAA Theme Waste=No
|LPAA Theme Cities and subnational governments=No
|LPAA Theme Short Term Pollutants=No
|LPAA Theme International maritime transport=No
|LPAA Theme Energy Supply=No
|LPAA Theme Fluorinated gases=No
|LPAA Theme Energy efficiency=No
|LPAA Theme Renewable energy=No
|LPAA Theme Supply chain emission reductions=No
|LPAA Theme Adaptation=Yes
|LPAA Theme Other=No
|LPAA Theme Resilience=No
|LPAA Theme Innovation=No
|LPAA Theme Energy Access and Efficiency=No
|LPAA Theme Private Finance=No
|Description=The BioCarbon Fund is a public-private sector initiative mobilizing financing to help develop projects that sequester or conserve carbon in forest and agro-ecosystems. It was the first carbon fund established in the world to focus on land use.

The BioCarbon Fund has three tranches. Tranches 1 and 2 projects have invested in environmental restoration, afforestation, reforestation, sustainable agriculture, and project-level REDD+. Tranche 1 and 2’s innovative work was made possible through the technical support funded by the BioCFplus program.  The technical assistance portion of the Fund supports project development and implementation with capacity building and training. The program further supports the pioneering role of the BioCarbon Fund by developing methodologies and tools for carbon accounting, promoting policy dialogue and by disseminating lessons learned.

On behalf of its investors, the BioCarbon Fund Tranches 1 and 2 pay for land-based carbon emission reductions from projects implemented on forested or agricultural lands in developing countries. The investors can choose to use these purchases against obligations for emission reductions under the Kyoto Protocol or for other regulated or voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction regimes, and investors have the option to retire the emission reduction credits altogether, thereby funding these projects without purchasing any carbon credits. The payment made for the emission reductions in turn benefits the project stakeholders as per benefit-sharing arrangements agreed with each individual project.

Tranche 3 along with a portion of the BioCFplus is referred to as the Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL) and aims to promote reduced greenhouse gas emissions from the land sector, from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+) and from sustainable agriculture, as well as smarter land-use planning, policies and practices. The initiative will deploy results-based finance to incentivize changes at the landscape level.
|Goals=The BioCarbon Fund aims to incentivize better land management, mitigate climate change and help communities adapt by providing revenues through the carbon markets or other forms of results-based payments. 

The BioCarbon Fund ISFL is committed to working at the scale of the jurisdictional landscape. National or jurisdictional governments consider the trade-offs and synergies between different land-uses that may compete in a jurisdiction — such as agriculture, energy, and forest protection and successfully identify integrated solutions that serve multiple objectives. Adopting a landscape approach means implementing a development strategy that is climate smart, equitable, productive and profitable at scale and strives for environmental, social, and economic impact. 

In addition, the Initiative is designed to work alongside a wide range of private actors, from multi-national corporations to large national actors and emerging small and medium enterprises and smallholders, incentivizing them to accelerate “forest-proof” sourcing of commodities and redirecting market forces toward more sustainable and equitable land management practices.
|Activities=Over the past decade, the BioCarbon Fund Tranches 1 and 2 have committed $90 million to 25 projects that are restoring 150,000 hectares of degraded lands and reducing deforestation in over 350,000 hectares of land.

These projects are sequestering 15 million tons of CO2e in their first 10 years of operation. The projects have all been pioneers in the land-use carbon markets and span 16 countries across major regions of the developing world (Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America).
|Participants=Participants investing in the BioCarbon Fund tranche 2 included six governments and public entities and 12 private companies. The BioCarbon Fund is housed within the Carbon Finance Unit of the World Bank. The current BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL) is funded by the governments of Germany, the Kingdom of Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States and has the World bank as partner.
|Funders=The World Bank, Germany, the Kingdom of Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States
|Business organisations=12
|Governmental bodies/agencies=6
|International organisations=1
|Participating national governments=Tranche 2: Canada,Ireland,France,Italy,Spain,Luxembourg,Trache 3 (ISFL): Germany,the Kingdom of Norway,the United Kingdom,the United States and the World bank as partner
|Have only national states as participators=No
|Related initiatives=
|Capacity to deliver=Yes
|Target in line with 2C=Yes
|Monitoring and Reporting=Exists/Possible
|Commitment=Yes
|Quantified=No
|Energy security=BioCarbon Fund projects generate multiple revenue streams, combining financial returns from the sale of emission reductions (a.k.a., carbon credits) with increased local incomes and other indirect benefits from sustainable land management practices. BioCarbon Fund projects also have important economic, social, and institutional co-benefits that are key incentives for local communities to participate in project implementation. Social benefits have included opportunities for greater land tenure security, new employment opportunities for communities with limited sources of income, and improved income from higher yields in agricultural, timber or wood fuel products.
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