Cleary Gottlieb represented the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), pro bono, in its co-design of the Althelia Biodiversity Fund Brazil (ABF Brazil), alongside Mirova Natural Capital Limited and other partners of the fund.
During the co-design, USAID had several roles, including recommendations for ABF Brazil’s environmental, social, and governance policies, its impact approach, and elements of its economic terms.
ABF Brazil held its first closing in October 2019 and aims to invest R$400 million ($100 million) over the next five years in four key areas: conservation and community livelihoods, smallholder production systems (e.g., agroforestry), sustainable farming and reforestation to recover degraded lands, and innovation in biodiversity services, finance, and technology.
ABF Brazil is a Brazilian impact investment fund intended to invest in sustainable businesses, cooperatives, NGOs, and other entities that seek transformational, positive impact on biodiversity and community livelihoods in the Amazon region of Brazil. It aims to strengthen the autonomy of forest-dependent communities, companies, and entrepreneurs, restore degraded lands, and reduce threats to standing forest and biodiversity, ultimately replacing illegal, unsustainable practices with legal, sustainable alternatives.