January 2018: EcoAgriculture Partners and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Netherlands have launched a trial version of the Landscape Investment and Finance Toolkit (LIFT). The toolkit aims to help multi-stakeholder platforms access financing for integrated landscape management plans. The two organizations have issued a call to potential partners to participate in the LIFT development phase, during 2018.

Developed to address the lack of investors financing integrated landscape projects, the toolkit supports improved coordination between landscape leaders and investors. LIFT is specifically designed to facilitate the implementation of integrated action plans that support local communities and global actors to address the causes of and adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change, as well as to achieve food, water and energy security. It is based on the recognition that such integrated approaches require a diverse range of complementary investments and effective coordination at the landscape scale.

The toolkit comprises a set of three modules that guide users through the process of defining, developing, and finding finance for their landscape priorities. Among other steps, the tool enables landscape initiatives to find the types of investors that might be interested in their business cases, and to develop pitch materials to successfully acquire that finance. More broadly, the toolkit is designed to support a variety of applications in integrated landscape management (ILM) programme development and landscape dialogue processes, and to build capacity in the areas of ILM leadership, green finance, and finance readiness.

It is expected that the toolkit will also enable multi-stakeholder platforms to capitalize on emerging financial instruments that support the development, testing and scaling of solutions to global sustainability challenges, notably the Green Climate Fund. [IUCN Blog] [LIFT website]