Verra, a global sustainability standards developer, has introduced the first version of its Nature Framework, a pioneering asset methodology under the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) Programme, designed to incentivise investment in biodiversity conservation. This framework enables projects to quantify biodiversity impacts, generating “Nature Credits” that support both ecological restoration and local communities. As a pilot, this version will evolve based on feedback from early project experiences.
The SD VISta Nature Framework aligns with Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which calls for $200 billion per year in biodiversity funding. Nature Credits provide companies with an opportunity to support conservation, helping address the urgent biodiversity funding gap while ensuring long-term ecosystem resilience.
“Verra’s Nature Framework empowers project proponents to quantify their biodiversity benefits. This framework, shaped by insights from Indigenous Peoples and local communities, incentivises investments that protect nature and benefit communities—it drives finance to projects that protect and restore ecosystems and generate tangible biodiversity outcomes. Our Nature Framework will result in measurable outcomes for the planet we share and the people who live on it,” said Mandy Rambharos, CEO, Verra.
Nature Credits represent one percent of net biodiversity outcomes, measured in “quality hectares” (Qha), derived from project interventions over monitoring periods. Given the non-fungible nature of biodiversity, these credits are voluntary and not intended for direct offsetting of specific biodiversity losses.
Central to the framework is its emphasis on Indigenous Peoples and local communities, whose stewardship is essential to global biodiversity. The Nature Framework mandates strict social safeguards, including free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) and benefit-sharing mechanisms to ensure genuine community engagement throughout project development.
“Verra’s SD VISta Nature Framework embodies a win-win-win approach. It can help close the biodiversity funding gap, enable companies to contribute to this goal and their own nature-dependent future, and reward the incredibly important and valuable work of Indigenous Peoples and local communities who often are the real stewards of nature,” said Sinclair Vincent, Senior Director, Sustainable Development Program Development and Innovation, Verra.