Business Development Facility

Forest Trends' Business Development Facility (BDF) is a consulting service that provides technical assistance to forest operators interested in developing revenue streams from ecosystem services and products. We support forest operators in assessing, identifying and developing opportunities such as carbon offsets, watershed mitigation, and biodiversity conservation, as well as recreation and extractive products. By securing commercial and financial partners, we enable our clients to execute on opportunities that have significant impact on their bottom line. We work with forest operators interested in pursuing non-timber revenue streams to maximize the value of their forest, but may not have the in-house capability, time and resources to do so.

The growing interest in markets for ecosystem services and products is driven by a number of factors: diminishing or degraded regional and global natural resources, limitations of traditional government regulatory approaches, societal demands for ecologically sound products, and the forest-based industry's need to find additional revenue sources to remain competitive. The BDF connects forest operators to these emerging markets and payment schemes for forest ecosystem services and products.

Our Approach

We help forest operators move from a 'single asset approach' where cut timber is seen as the only real value of forests, to a 'multiple asset approach' that diversifies revenues streams by capitalizing on non-timber products and services. This diversified approach also results in additional benefits such as: land appreciation, positive PR, asset protection, risk reduction, biodiversity preservation, and benefits for and improved relations with local community and other stakeholders. In developed markets and for publicly traded forest management companies, this in turn is likely to lead to better ratings in the investment community, and assist in attracting additional capital and potentially a higher long term value for business.

Often forest operators do not have the resources and time to dedicate to develop these products and services and find it difficult to justify the investment until they have comfort that they can deliver commercial value and a range of other benefits. The BDF provides business development and technical assistance support, and a network of potential commercial and financial partners with expertise in this area to support the management team in developing and implementing these products and services.

Our Services

The Business Development Facility provides support to forest operators in assessing, identifying and developing key non-timber products and services opportunities such as carbon sequestration, watershed mitigation, and biodiversity conservation, as well as recreation - hunting, fishing, ecotourism, and sustainably extracted products.

Carbon credit opportunities are a key component of the BDF expertise and our experience includes: fuel switching, biofuel energy generation, reforestation/afforestation, as well as exploring opportunities for avoided deforestation (currently non-Kyoto compliant). We work to develop new distribution channels and stimulate demand by working with users, potential buyers and regulators. In some cases the BDF works to maximize the value of harvested timber, particularly value-added production and utilization/sale of waste wood, tree crowns/branches etc.

Our Expertise

The Business Development Facility has global experience assisting forest operators to develop ecosystem service and product opportunities. Our core team includes Michael Jenkins, the founding President and CEO of Forest Trends, Frank Hicks, President of Sustainable Development International, Schalk Kapp, a consultant with sustainable forestry and non-timber products knowledge, and Nathaniel Carroll, a consultant with tropical forest enterprise and conservation strategy experience. The Facility works with local and international specialist consultants within sustainable forestry, ecosystem services, and non-timber forest products.

Through our affiliation with Forest Trends and The Katoomba Group, our expertise is enhanced by a large network of partners from: forest & forest products companies, research institutions, forestry funds, multilateral development banks, conservation organizations, investment funds, and foundations. From this diverse network we have assembled a BDF advisory committee.

Partnerships

The BDF works with small-to-medium and large-scale commercial forest operators, governments and community-based projects. Candidates for the BDF should have (1) strong forest management team (2) ecosystem service and product opportunities identified and (3) certified or on the path to certification.

The technical assistance support is provided in the form of a performance-based loan in which the loan is repaid only after the business opportunities have generated an adequate return for the forest operator.

The facility focuses primarily on three regions – Southern/Central Africa, Latin America, and Asia , and is developing a portfolio of natural forests and best practice plantation forest management operations.

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