NEW YORK, 27 October 2021 – Through a collaboration announced today, Conservation International will serve as an impact adviser to BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group’s (TIG) new impact-oriented reforestation investment strategy in Latin America. The strategic collaboration seeks to mobilize US$ 1 billion over five years and deliver significant climate, environmental and social benefits at a large scale, alongside financial returns.
By combining TIG’s more than 40-year track record in sustainable timberland investing with Conservation International’s experience in natural forest protection and restoration, the strategy aims to protect and restore hundreds of thousands of acres of natural forests in degraded landscapes across Latin America; plant hundreds of millions of trees in sustainably managed, independently certified commercial forests; provide tens of millions of tons of carbon benefit; and support inclusive and equitable community development.
Research shows that natural climate solutions (NCS) — efforts to protect, manage and restore forest, grassland and wetland systems — can provide at least 30% of the mitigation required to limit warming to 1.5°C, while also delivering a range of social, environmental and economic outcomes.
Gerrity Lansing, the Head of TIG, said that climate change and biodiversity loss are among the world’s most urgent challenges. “Restoration and reforestation offer one of the greatest opportunities to deliver climate mitigation at the landscape level, together with a host of other benefits for people and the planet. Latin America, in particular, offers massive potential for these activities at scale because of ideal growing conditions, technical capacity and market depth,” he said.
“We believe this initiative is another leading example of how the forest sector can deliver financial returns for investors through reforestation, alongside the significant climate, conservation and community impact of restoration and conservation activities,” Lansing said.
Conservation International will serve as impact adviser to provide input and advice to help TIG achieve positive environmental, climate, and social impacts related to the conservation and restoration aspects of the strategy.
“Protecting nature is critical to protecting our climate future,” said Jack Hurd, executive vice president of global programs at Conservation International. “Initiatives like this one help chart a new path to a sustainable economy that does just that, all while providing a host of additional benefits to local communities. We look forward to working with TIG.”
TIG will seek to acquire properties in Latin America that have been previously deforested and would likely be managed unsustainably under a business-as-usual scenario.
With Conservation International’s input and advice, TIG will then seek to unlock additional climate, environmental and social benefits and will seek to protect and restore natural forest on half the land acquired under the strategy, and establish sustainably managed commercial tree farms on the other half. TIG will seek to certify all properties to the Forest Stewardship Council’s internationally recognized, independent, third-party sustainability standard.
“The link between forest restoration and commercial forestry, and the financing that reforestation provides for the conservation and restoration efforts, represents a new approach designed to achieve impact at a substantial scale,” said Mark Wishnie, the Chief Sustainability Officer at TIG.
As part of the broader strategy, TIG will also invest in the development of processing facilities that will target production of climate-positive forest products, such as solid wood that can store carbon sequestered from the atmosphere for decades or longer and substitute for more carbon-intensive, non-renewable materials.
This initiative will initially target investments in Brazil, Uruguay and Chile, where millions of hectares of previously deforested lands are potentially suitable for natural forest protection and restoration and reforestation.
About the BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group
The BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG) is one of the world’s oldest and largest timberland investment management organizations. TIG manages assets and commitments of over $4 billion across 3 million acres.[1] TIG and affiliates have over 100 professional staff members bringing local, regional, and global experience to bear on the careful management of client investments. For more information, please visit www.timberlandinvestmentgroup.com.
About BTG Pactual
BTG Pactual (BPAC11) is the biggest investment bank from Latin America, operating in Investment Banking, Corporate Lending, Sales & Trading, Wealth Management and Asset Management. Since inception, in 1983, the Bank has been run based on a meritocratic partnership culture, focused on clients, excellence and a long-term vision. BTG Pactual has cemented its status as one of the most innovative sector players and has won numerous national and international awards. BTG Pactual currently has more than 4,000 employees in offices across Brazil, as well as in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, the US, Portugal and England. For more information go to http://www.btgpactual.com.
About Conservation International
Conservation International works to protect the critical benefits that nature provides to people. Through science, partnerships and fieldwork, Conservation International is driving innovation and investments in nature-based solutions to the climate crisis, supporting protections for critical habitats, and fostering economic development that is grounded in the conservation of nature. Conservation International works in 30 countries around the world, empowering societies at all levels to create a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable planet. Follow Conservation International’s work on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
(Disclaimer) Conservation International Is an independent third-party and has no connection with the management or operation of TIG’s new impact-oriented reforestation investment strategy in Latin America except on a limited basis as impact adviser. As impact adviser (and participation of Conservation International personnel on the strategy’s Impact Advisory Board), Conservation International will provide general nonfinancial advice on investments proposed to be made by TIG as the strategy’s fund manager and various environmental and related impacts of such proposed investments. Potential investors in the strategy should review the full description of, and express limitations on, Conservation International ‘s services in the offering documentation, including investor acknowledgements, to be furnished by TIG in connection with the sale of interests in the strategy. Conservation International will not be advising and does not express an opinion on the manufacture climate-positive forest products and the avoided emissions, storage and substitution benefits related to the manufacture, transport or use of such products.
[1] As of September 30, 2021; TIG.