Lorenzo Vangelisti: the Wildlife Conservation Bond, a crucial tool for the defense of biodiversity

Valeur Group has subscribed to the Wildlife Conservation Bond. As recently announced by the Group’s CEO Lorenzo Vangelisti, the independent firm specialized in asset management and trading services has completed its subscription to the financial instrument issued by the World Bank. “The decision to invest in Rhino Impact Bonds strengthens our commitment to pursuing humanitarian and animals’ welfare objectives”, Lorenzo Vangelisti explained, adding that these are “the core goals of our non-profit organization Valeur Foundation”.
Also known as Rhino Impact Bond, the Wildlife Conservation Bond is conceived to support black rhinos and local communities in the Addo Elephant National Park and the Great Fish River Nature Reserve in South Africa. It is the first-of-its-kind fixed income instrument developed for the conservation of a particular endangered species. Issued by the World Bank, it consists of a 5-year loan of 150 million dollars which follows a “pay-as-you-go” model, which pays its investors in relation to the growth rates of black rhinos in the two South African reserves. The double aim is to defend an endangered species and protect the entire ecosystem as well as local communities.
“The preservation of rhinos can contribute to the defense of biodiversity and at the same time can promote employment in local communities”, Valeur Group‘s CEO Lorenzo Vangelisti pointed out: as he emphasized, this is pursued “through the creation of jobs needed to carry out this important conservation project”. As for the objectives of this financial instrument, suffice it to say that, according to official estimates, the population of black rhinos has decreased from 65’000 in the 1970s to the current 2’600 – a drastic decrease that is linked to the international trade in rhino horns, and the loss and fragmentation of the habitat. It is precisely for this reason that the Rhino Impact Bond follows an outcome payment model which pay returns in relation to the growth rates of black rhinos in South Africa.

Further information can be found here:
https://www.lorenzovangelisti.it/en/news/rhino-bonds-valeur-groups-new-investment/