Brazil already has early-stage projects. They range from credits linked to jaguar conservation in the Pantanal—a species that indicates environmental quality—to the use of molecular technology to identify and certify biological wealth in Rondônia.

In March, the Instituto Homem Pantaneiro (IHP), in partnership with the ERA platform and forest regeneration company Regen, launched the country’s first certified issuance of biodiversity credits in Mato Grosso do Sul, marking a national milestone. The jaguar is an indicator species of biological wealth in the region’s Pantanal wetlands.

However, IHP’s biodiversity credits currently lack market value. They are pilot credits, the first generated in Brazil, and rely on a method still under development.

Last October, Paraná became the first regional government in the world to establish a biodiversity credit policy.

Biodiversity credits convert conservation actions into economic value. The concept encourages companies, funds, and institutions to finance projects that deliver concrete gains, such as protecting endangered species or restoring habitats. The credits act as certificates validating positive actions.

Carbon credits, by contrast, target emission reductions and carbon sequestration. Although distinct, both systems can be integrated to amplify environmental benefits.

Unlike carbon credits, which are supported by a structured market, biodiversity credits lack consensus on methods, certification, and pricing. Their role in the COP30 discussions in November in Belém has yet to be defined.

Juliana Lopes, co-leader of the Bioeconomy Task Force of the Brazil Climate, Forests and Agriculture Coalition and director of Nature and Society at CEBDS, says biodiversity credits hold promise for a megadiverse country like Brazil, but warns that better structuring and a dedicated financial architecture are still needed to generate demand.

Ms. Lopes cites Colombia’s Terrasos as an international benchmark. Colombia is regulating its biodiversity credit market and, in partnership with Terrasos, maintains a public database of restoration initiatives eligible for credit financing.

In Brazil, Terrasos is developing an initiative in Pará alongside Natura and institutions such as the Federal University of Pará to benefit extractive communities. Vanessa Garcia, an international business developer at Terrasos, explains that the aim is to diversify income sources for communities that supply raw forest materials to Natura while facing climate change and deforestation challenges.

Terrasos founder and CEO Mariana Sarmiento highlights the importance of developing methods that ensure long-term conservation and attract investment.

She compares investing in biodiversity credits to pension funds, which must maintain sustainability over decades. In Terrasos projects, resources flow to project agents—communities or landowners—but a portion is mandatorily set aside in a fund until the project sells all its credits.

“Let’s say, in a straightforward hypothetical case, we have an area of 100 hectares to be conserved by a community for 30 or 40 years. These 100 hectares can generate 100 credits, sold in a single transaction, but the money is only received by the community as the project achieves predetermined objectives,” Ms. Sarmiento explains.

She emphasizes that ensuring long-term ecological infrastructure is essential for Brazil and other tropical countries. Biodiversity credits can compensate landowners and prevent deforestation. Public policies encouraging biodiversity investment are essential to attract the private sector, the executive says. “Without environmental requirements, contractual obligations, or financial incentives, there will be no demand for this type of market,” she notes.

The IHP project protects jaguars across 40,600 hectares of Serra do Amolar, where four riverside communities reside within private natural heritage reserves (RPPNs). As an umbrella species, the jaguar’s conservation safeguards multiple other plant and animal species. The initial phase monitors five jaguars and evaluates habitat quality, alongside conservation measures to combat hunting, foster ecotourism, and deliver environmental education.

IHP environmental engineer Yanna Fernanda, who developed the methodology in the Pantanal, says the work combines field data collection with advanced technologies—camera traps, GPS telemetry, and DNA analysis—all producing auditable data.

“Ensuring the conservation of jaguars is a way of measuring the preservation of biodiversity in the Pantanal,” she says.

In Paraná, the State Biodiversity Credit Policy, launched at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, pioneers a market-based model that compensates private-sector environmental impacts.

Mauro Rebelo, a biologist at UFRJ who develops verifiable methods to identify, measure, and evaluate biological diversity, sees COP30 as a chance to advance biodiversity credits.

He stresses that climate and biodiversity are inseparable: forests underpin the climate, but they themselves rely on it.

“It makes no sense to talk about carbon and climate without considering the role of biodiversity. Carbon credits are essential, but biodiversity credits may be even more so,” says Mr. Rebelo, professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and founder of Bio Bureau, a Rio-based biotechnology company dedicated to developing solutions for businesses based on cutting-edge molecular research.

Mr. Rebelo and his team recently assessed the biological wealth of a forest area in Cujubim, Rondônia—managed by Manoa Sustentável, a company already active in the carbon credit market—demonstrating the practical application of these emerging tools.

Environmental DNA, or eDNA, a technology gaining traction in the biodiversity market, involves genetically identifying all DNA traces in a sample—soil, air, or water.

By detecting eDNA, scientists can infer the presence of plant, animal, fungal, or microbial species across thousands of hectares in weeks or months—a task that, Rebelo points out, once could take years without technology.

“Environmental DNA has been used in a pilot project and is a solution for scaling and assessing large areas in an auditable way. It allows for identifying and measuring diversity and data protection, which can be audited and cannot be altered. The method generates digital biological molecules that can be protected by encryption,” he says.

Mr. Rebelo does not see the lack of a single pricing system as a barrier. “The difference between areas, biomes, and species does not impede the sale of credits. On the contrary, think of the art market. Masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa are unique, but that does not prevent them from being incredibly valuable.”

Murilo Granemann, director of Manoa Sustentável, argues that biodiversity credits can channel funds into conserving standing forests. “There is a lot of talk about carbon and restoration. These are important things, of course. But biodiversity is the origin of everything, the most essential thing for the existence of the forest, and it has been neglected. Carbon has become a commodity, but no one is investing in standing forests,” he emphasizes.

He adds that in Brazil, deforested land commands a higher price than forested land: one hectare of cleared land in Rondônia or Mato Grosso can cost around R$25,000, compared with less than R$2,000 for the same area covered by forest.

“The standing forest has lost value, and biodiversity is disappearing. The carbon market is not enough to change this situation. Restoration is important, but conserving what exists is even more fundamental. Furthermore, restoration is costly. Biodiversity credits are an instrument that can preserve forests,” he says.