New Green Bond Helps Finance Forests and Wetlands Protection
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Business
A new green bond standard allows water projects involving natural water infrastructure such as forests, farms and rivers to be certified as green bonds. Here’s why that matters for the future of water.
By Todd Gartner and John H. Matthews
A new financial mechanism—“green bonds” that pay for using ecosystems as “natural infrastructure” for clean, ample water—can help.
Representative image, Source: Pixnio, Labeled for Reuse
Green bonds for natural infrastructure
Most people think of water infrastructure as dams, pipes and water treatment plants. Natural infrastructure like healthy forests, farms, rivers and wetlands can also address supply and quality challenges by filtering water, buffering against floods and regulating flow.
Combining built and natural forms of infrastructure – for example, by restoring a forest that surrounds a water treatment plant—combines the benefits of both systems.
These hybrid approaches often save money, increase the lifespan of built infrastructure, improve resiliency to climate change and produce co-benefits like reduced carbon emissions, recreation, rural jobs and habitat protection.
Read full article: Eco-Business
Media
Taxonomy
- Ecosystem Management
- Ecosystem Management
- Wetlands
- Constructed Wetlands
- Infrastructure
- Infrastructure Management
- Land and Water Resources Management
- Ecosystem Management
- Bond Insurance
- Wetlands