IDB Lab, the innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is launching a call to identify innovative solutions that make use of digital tokens to promote biodiversity conservation and facilitate climate action.

Digital tokens, crypto assets, or purely digital assets can become amplifiers of actions that halt and reverse biodiversity loss and promote nature-friendly solutions. However, the possibilities of these instruments in this field have hardly been explored globally and minimally in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), a region that has 40 per cent of the world’s biological diversity, 30 per cent of the drinking water available on earth, and almost 50 per cent of the world’s tropical forests.

IDB Lab, fully aligned with the promotion of actions against climate change established by the IDB Group’s Vision 2025, launches this call to explore the true potential of digital tokens aimed at start-ups, small, medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), foundations, non-profit organisations, corporations, universities, think tanks, public innovation agencies, accelerators, and other organisations with experience in the subject, ready to implement models, and duly registered and located in one of the 26 IDB borrowing countries. Organisations from non-borrowing countries may also participate if they do so in association with any of the above.

“We expect to receive proposals that promote the conservation and/or regeneration of biodiversity with novel solutions of an innovative nature and appropriate use of technology, paying special consideration to the context, the social and economic inclusion of poor and vulnerable populations, as well as the participation and leadership of local communities in the conservation and management of natural resources,” the IDB stated in a press release.

A second track of the challenge seeks solutions that raise awareness and create networks of actors working in the technology industry in the field of biodiversity, as well as favouring inclusive and binding governance protocols for this field of application, including monitoring systems.

The challenge will remain open until August 12, 2022. The selected proposals will be announced in September 2022 and may receive funding to develop their projects in any of the aforementioned 26 countries. They will also be included among IDB Lab’s network of global innovators working in LAC to exchange knowledge, experiences, best practices, and may have opportunities to participate in networking events organised by the IDB Group and its partners.

The Digital Tokens for Biodiversity Innovation Challenge is a joint effort from the Natural Capital Lab, the IDB Group’s entity for promoting financial innovation in natural capital, and LACChain, the global alliance for the blockchain development in LAC, led by IDB Lab.