Biodiversity Credit Alliance (BCA) Issue Papers are developed to provide background, analysis and research on key topics relevant to the development of a biodiversity credit market. This paper presents basic information about the potential sources of demand for biodiversity credits (regulated and voluntary), attributes of credits that may influence buyer behaviour, as well as standards and principles, that are likely to be important to some or all these demand sources.
The paper is intended to serve as a foundational summary of potential demand and a basis for further work. It includes discussion and recommendations for the BCA and wider participants of the biodiversity credit market. To support the constructive development of the biodiversity credit market, BCA is seeking to clarify basic information on potential, non-exclusive motivations which may drive buyer interest. This will help facilitate the development of credits, and a credit market, with qualities that suit buyers’ requirements. BCA also seeks to understand risks that are most pressing in potential buyers’ minds so that it can support the development of protocols that avoid or reduce risks. The paper also categorises sources of potential demand for biodiversity credits across a spectrum ranging from purely voluntary to purely regulatory drivers.
About the Publisher
The Biodiversity Credit Alliance (BCA) was launched during CBD COP 15 and exists to provide guidance for the development of a credible and scalable biodiversity credit market that stands up to the scrutiny of multiple market participants. Key among them are Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities who live at the frontline of the nature crisis, and are represented on BCA’s Community Advisory Panel (CAP). Together members are working to ensure strong foundations and principles exist and can be applied by all who enter the market.
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