Bank financing in ill-conceived infrastructure development, improper land use changes, fossil fuel energy development, monoculture agricultural production, and extractive industries are driving the disappearance of biodiversity and critical ecosystems.

In spite of the significant role banks play in financing these sectors and activities, however, many financial institutions have yet to develop robust policies or practices to address the biodiversity impacts of their lending. This is why civil society groups, academics, and people’s groups all across the world are calling on banks to adopt a No Go areas to categorically prohibit financing of harmful activities in or near sensitive areas.

The Banks and Biodiversity Initiative aims to hold banks accountable for their impacts on biodiversity and critical ecosystems, and advocates that banks adopt our proposed No Go areas. It is led by a steering committee of civil society organizations which includes: BankTrack, Bank Information Center, Friends of the Earth US, International Rivers, and Rivers without Boundaries.

The Banks and Biodiversity Initiative is also guided by the Indigenous Advisory Group, a group of Indigenous experts who inform and advise the steering committee on the intersection of biodiversity and Indigenous Peoples issues.

Banks and Biodiversity Initiative Steering Committee

BankTrack is the international tracking, campaigning and CSO support organisation targeting private sector commercial banks and the activities they finance. BankTrack’s mission is to stop banks from financing harmful business activities; to promote a banking sector that respects human rights and contributes to just societies and a healthy planet; and to support fellow civil society organisations in their engagement with banks.

Bank Information Center (BIC) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization that advocates for transparency, accountability, sustainability, and inclusion in development finance.  BIC partners with civil society in developing and transition countries to monitor and influence the policies and operations of the World Bank Group and other international financial institutions (IFIs).  In partnership with international, regional, and local CSOs, BIC conducts research and advocacy aimed at reforming and improving IFI policy and practices.  BIC’s Environment and Climate Campaign focuses on promoting development finance that advances agreed international environmental goals & standards and ecological & social justice, especially with respect to forests and climate.

Friends of the Earth US (FOE US) aims to create a more environmentally sustainable and socially just world by transforming financial and economic systems. FOE US works to redirect tax policies and public spending to make polluters pay for the costs of their pollution, and to drive the transition to a cleaner, low-carbon economy. In the United States, FOE US works to strengthen regulations to encourage sustainability in financial markets and fight trade policies that allow companies to run roughshod over the environment and human rights. We also work with allies around the world to improve lending practices at financial institutions such as the World Bank, the U.S. Export-Import Bank and Wall Street banks that fund polluting activities and harm communities in developing countries.

International Rivers protects rivers and defends the rights of communities that depend on them. It seeks a world where healthy rivers and the rights of local river communities are valued and protected. They envision a world where water and energy needs are met without degrading nature or increasing poverty, and where people have the right to participate in decisions that affect their lives.

Rivers without Boundaries is a collaborative international network of organizations and experts dedicated to preserving the health of transboundary river basins in northeast Eurasia through joint advocacy and promoting best practices in river management.