3.4 Restore and regenerate landscapes Priority action 4 Support nature conservation and restoration with local communities, both across and beyond own value chains, and invest in innovative nature financing mechanisms. Support nature conservation and restoration In pursuing conservation and restoration efforts, companies should first start by following the mitigation hierarchy at the site level and addressing the impacts of their own activities, including compensating for unavoidable residual impacts to meet NNL or BNG goals. However, companies are also encouraged to contribute to systems-wide conservation and restoration within and beyond their own value chains,280 and target investments towards contributing to government targets under their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). Companies should adopt holistic, ecosystem-wide approaches, incorporating Indigenous ecological knowledge that promotes balance and sustainability. This includes investing in credible and effective nature-based solutions (through place-based conservation and restoration or landscape and jurisdictional approaches), and partnering with environmental NGOs, local governments, Indigenous Peoples and other local communities, such as through the World Economic Forum’s 1t.org initiative. As supporting guidance, companies can refer to the Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions published by IUCN, which proposes eight criteria and 28 indicators to deliver results that are “environmentally sound, socially just and economically feasible”.Companies in the sector are already investing in and supporting conservation and restoration initiatives. For example, Vale, in collaboration with Itaú Unibanco, Marfrig, Santander, Suzano and Rabobank, formed a new company, Biomas, to restore and protect 4 million hectares of native forests in biomes such as the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado over 20 years.281 In addition, BHP Foundation, in collaboration with Nature United (an affiliate of The Nature Conservancy), is working with First Nations to create a new model for shared resource management on a 9 million- hectare commercial forest tenure in the Canadian Boreal, implementing conservation in support of economic and community well-being.282 Invest in innovative biodiversity financing mechanisms A 2020 report estimated there is an average global biodiversity financing gap of $711 billion per year required for the protection, restoration and enhancement of nature,283 where the private sector has a key role to play in helping bridge this gap by investing in a nature-positive transition. Target 19 of the Global Biodiversity Framework proposes several innovative ways to mobilize public- and private-sector resources. For example, companies could consider investing in payment for ecosystem services, green or blue bonds, nature restoration funds and voluntary biodiversity certificates or credit markets. Through careful assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of available products, companies can contribute to meaningful long-term biodiversity conservation that is aligned with both their internal values and targets as well as national objectives. The Forum has published a Private Sector Roadmap to Finance and Act on Nature. Nature Positive: Role of the Mining and Metals Sector 43

Nature Positive Role of the Mining and Metals Sector