Structured in two parts, the first part of the guide outlines why it is important for agribusinesses to engage in nature-positive practices and why landscape restoration is one of the most effective solutions to tackling issues related to land degradation. Part two then outlines the key steps for agribusinesses to consider in order to develop a strong business case for restoration, presenting some concrete examples, steps, and tools to support companies throughout the process. The process outlined in the guide is embedded in local ownership and multi-stakeholder collaboration.

This guide provides information and reasoning as to why it is important for agribusinesses to engage in nature-positive business practices, and why landscape restoration is an effective solution to issues related to degradation of landscapes and natural capital on which agribusinesses depend. The aim of this guide is not to provide a comprehensive methodological overview, but to outline key steps to consider for developing a business case for restoration in supply chains, and why this matters.

The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and fund manager Mirova Natural Capital created
the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund, the world’s first investment fund dedicated to preventing soil degradation. This is a blended finance vehicle investing in projects that promote sustainable land management and rehabilitation of degraded land through investments in sustainable agriculture and forestry, among other land-use sectors.

The target size of the fund is USD 300 million, 70% from senior investors who aim for commercial returns, and 30% from junior investors who provide concessional capital. Of the USD 300 million 20–30% will be first-loss capital, most of it from public investors. At project level, the fund takes a mezzanine position, with the aim of attracting additional commercial funding to scale up promising projects (Global Mechanism of the UNCCD & Mirova. 2015).

Private investors include Fondaction, BNP Paribas Cardif, and Garance. Concessional finance has been provided by the European Investment Bank, Fondation de France, and the Government of Luxembourg. Grants for technical assistance were provided by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The layered structure allows the LDN Fund to offer different risk-return profiles for different investors, with the junior tranche (funded using public and philanthropic funds) de-risking the more senior tranches and incentivising private investment (Global Mechanism of the UNCCD & Mirova. 2017).
The use of blended finance also facilitates the provision of technical assistance, longer repayment periods, and repayment grace periods, which are necessary due to the long time horizon over which many land rehabilitation and forestry projects take place, and the significant gap between initial investments and the first cashflows generated by projects (Quéru, 2017; WBCSD, 2018).
The fund aims to show private investors the potential of investing in natural capital, and thereby catalysing new investment (Climate Action Stories, 2020) ( Authors list : Raes, L., Buffle, P., Williamson, Z., Benson, S., Ding, H. and McBreen, J.)