Session Description
Nature-positive commitments, including "No Net Loss" targets, are rapidly transitioning from voluntary goals to mandatory requirements. However, a critical gap remains in verifying delivery at landscape scales. Independent third-party verification is missing for market credibility, exposing governments and investors to severe greenwashing risks.
Impact assessment (IA) practitioners frequently struggle to validate that project mitigation translates into long-term biodiversity outcomes. This session explores how robust assurance mechanisms can enhance nature-positive IA credibility and de-risk emerging markets.
We will examine governance and verification protocols to ensure "Nature Positive" is a verifiable operating system. Through a panel format, we will convene financial regulators, policy-makers, auditors, and standard-setters to discuss:
How independent auditing and chain-of-custody models can strengthen IA methodologies.
The role of digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) in reducing assessment subjectivity.
Strategies for IA practitioners to support ecosystem service and biodiversity credit market integrity.
Moving beyond passive compliance, this session defines steps to build credible, bankable outcomes that markets trust.
Session Summary
As nature-positive commitments become mandatory, how do we guarantee their integrity and de-risk market investments? This session explores the role of independent assurance mechanisms in bridging the gap between impact assessment and credible biodiversity outcomes, offering practitioners a roadmap for scaling transparency,
Session Chair
Steve Edwards
Forest Stewardship Council
Switzerland
Session Co-chair
Martine Maron
University of Queensland
Australia