IFC commits $50 million to BTG Pactual TIG’s Latin American reforestation strategy
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, announced today a $50 million commitment to help mobilize $1 billion for the BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group’s (TIG) Latin American reforestation strategy. Conservation International serves as impact adviser for the strategy
The announcement was made following a signing ceremony in São Paulo that included Alfonso García Mora, IFC’s Vice President for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Roberto Sallouti, CEO of BTG Pactual, and Rachel Biderman, Senior Vice President for the Americas at Conservation International.
The reforestation strategy focuses on the conservation, restoration, and planting of deforested and degraded properties in selected regions in Latin America, including the Cerrado biome in Brazil, one of the most biodiverse, seasonally dry ecosystems in the world. Approximately half of the Cerrado has already been converted to other uses.
By investing in projects that are dedicated to sustainable commercial tree farms across half their footprint, and the protection and restoration of native ecosystems across the other half, BTG Pactual TIG seeks to integrate the protection and restoration of important habitats with sustainable commercial production. This forward-leaning approach targets deforested and degraded land. Reforesting this land seeks to integrate commercial, social, biodiversity, and greenhouse gas sequestration goals into a single strategy.
The transaction marks IFC’s first engagement with an institutional timberland investment manager, which is expected to generate carbon credits through nature-based solutions, support climate mitigation efforts, and strengthen sustainable forest management practices in Brazil. These efforts will foster jobs and expand economic opportunities in rural areas of the country. In addition, the application of IFC´s Performance Standards will help the strategy to identify, avoid and mitigate risks, as a way of further integrating sustainability into business operations.
The IFC loan triggers a better financial outcome for BTG Pactual TIG if the strategy meets specific targets designed to enhance biodiversity and watershed health through connectivity corridors for plants and animals, and buffers along streams and rivers that can help provide ecosystem services for natural water infrastructure.
Via Business Wire