Today, I’m joined by Manesh Lacoul, Global Coordinator of the Biodiversity Credit Alliance. In this conversation, Manesh explains how biodiversity credit markets are taking shape and why credibility must be built in from the start. We discuss the key lessons emerging from carbon markets, including the need to prioritize integrity, inclusion, equity, and innovation rather than treating them as afterthoughts. Manesh shares how the Biodiversity Credit Alliance is bringing together stakeholders across the market to develop principles, assessment tools, and comparability frameworks that can support high-integrity growth. We also talk about buyer integrity, the different use cases for biodiversity credits, the growing role of governments, and what investors and project developers should be paying attention to as this market evolves.

“In carbon markets, integrity came more as an afterthought. For biodiversity, integrity must go hand in hand with market development.”

0:09 Welcome to Forest Invest with Shauna Matkovich

1:14 Manesh Lacoul on his role at the Biodiversity Credit Alliance

3:30 The key actors shaping biodiversity credit markets

5:58 What success looks like: integrity, inclusion, equity, and innovation

7:17 Lessons biodiversity markets should learn from carbon markets

12:44 Inclusion and equity across different local contexts

15:37 Market readiness on the buy and sell side

19:00 Why buyer integrity matters as much as supplier integrity

24:47 How current biodiversity credit buyers are approaching the market

26:52 Where biodiversity credit activity is emerging globally

28:58 The EU roadmap for nature credits

31:14 Biodiversity stacked on carbon credits

32:31 Biodiversity credits versus payment for ecosystem services

35:04 How new buyers, investors, and developers can get started

37:58 Why there are so many methodologies and whether consolidation will happen

41:01 High-level principles, assessment tools, and comparability frameworks

44:10 Why growing government involvement is encouraging

46:02 Advice for forest investors and the role of biodiversity credits in production forests

48:21 Where to find Biodiversity Credit Alliance resources

48:36 Closing remarks with Shauna Matkovich

Founding Director and Host: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLink

Producer and Editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted Creatives

Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud

Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud

Ambient Documentary by Sound Guru (Pixabay)

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Building Biodiversity Credit Markets from the Ground Up - with Manesh Lacoul