Expertise: Natural Capital Specialist
Expertise Group: Agriculture/Rural Development
Consultant Source: International
TOR Keywords:
Objective and Purpose of the Assignment
- By 2050, a growing global population and urbanization with increased wealth and changing diets will require food systems to deliver 60% more food. This challenge will be intensified by food systems’ extreme vulnerability to climate change, which negative impacts are already being felt in the form of reduced yields, a depletion of natural capital and ecosystems services, sea level rise and more frequent extreme weather events. In addition, food systems contribute roughly 25% to 42% of all global GHG emissions. To achieve the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C and avoid catastrophic impacts while feeding a growing global population, food systems will need to produce food more efficiently, become more resilient and reduce GHG emissions, at the same time protecting, conserving, and enhancing natural capital.
- However, natural capital in Asia and the Pacific region has declined severely, which poses a critical
challenge to the region’s economies and to the transformation of their food systems. Overexploitation of land, grasslands, forests, freshwater, oceans, coasts, and other ecosystems has not only depleted the region’s natural capital, but also increased GHG emissions and worsened water and food insecurity, and human health and security. This is particularly acute when considering that 30% of the national wealth in the region comes from natural capital. Furthermore, more than 89% of global aquaculture and 50% of the global catch of river and marine fish come from the region. Likewise, agro-ecosystems in the region represent 87% of the world’s small farms and 30% of the world’s agriculture land. - Historically, the Asia and the Pacific region has underfunded the protection, conservation, and
enhancement of natural capital. There are several factors that have constrained this under-investment in natural capital: (i) natural capital projects struggle to access adequate finance, as they are quite often perceived as high-risk and low-return; (ii) when they access finance, the cost of funding is often too high when compared to the revenue streams that some natural capital projects can generate; (iii) not enough long-term patient capital to match the long-lead times that natural capital projects require; and (iv) insufficient pre-seed, seed, and early-stage flexible financing for innovative and transformative natural capital projects. This is particularly acute for small and medium enterprises that struggle to
overcome the valley of death; and (v) catalytic capital is not always used to finance up-front project development costs of natural capital projects that can generate verified revenue streams and attract demand from public and private investors - As a part of this, the TA would support the development of the concept of the catalytic Innovative
Natural Capital Financing Facility (INCFF) comprising 3 pillars – Natural Capital Lab (NCL), Natural
Capital Fund (NCF) and Agribusiness Services Platform (ASP). NbS would be promoted as an integral part of project design and development. In line with this objective, ADB is developing a directional guidance note for providing Asian Development Bank (ADB) staff, partnering DMCs, and development partners an overview of the opportunities and approaches for integrating NbS in agriculture, natural resources, and rural development (ANR) operations for enhancing food security and enabling agri-food system transformation in the region, while directly supporting OP3, OP5 and the bank’s $14 billion commitment to food security.
Scope of Work
- ADB will engage a Natural Capital Specialist to support the development of the directional guide on NbS in Agri-food Systems and provide guidance to operationalize Agri-food systems NbS in ADB.
Detailed Tasks and/or Expected Output
- The Natural Capital Specialist will undertake tasks on the following areas:
a. Support the development of the directional guide on NbS in Agri-food Systems;
b. Examine various models of financing NbS prevalent in the market;
c. Help in determining the most suitable financing models for NbS in agri-food systems in Asia and the Pacific;
d. Provide guidance to operationalize Agri-food systems NbS in ADB through consultations, participation in meetings and working group sessions, as well as provide policy and ADB business process advice related to entry points to scale up NbS.
e. Support in preparation of reports, presentations, talking points, and other tasks that are required by the natural capital team for NbS in agri-food systems.
Minimum Qualification Requirements
- The Natural Capital Specialist must have (i) a post-graduate degree or equivalent research experience in finance, business administration, conservation finance, environment, and other related fields; and
(ii) at least 10 years or more of relevant working experience in developing countries. Familiarity with environmental projects and experience in conducting research on natural capital is highly desirable.
Prior working experience in multilateral development banks or international organizations is an
advantage.
Minimum General Experience: 10 Years
Minimum Specific Experience (relevant to assignment): 10 Years
