A PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE
Pioneering nature positive investment in the Annamites Bioregion
Regulators now demand measurable biodiversity outcomes from development. Capital markets are ready to fund biodiversity conservation. Both lack the data and the legal frameworks to scale with integrity. We are developing two of the enablers that close that gap, in one of the least understood and most biodiverse and threatened places on Earth.
~11,000 km²
The core Annamites landscape, an area larger than Jamaica, spanning a large section of the Lao and Viet Nam border, and the tri-border area with Cambodia
2 enablers
A Biodiversity Value Mapping system, and a conservation concession investment model
7 GBF targets
Directly serves seven of the 23 targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework
—- WHERE
The Annamite Mountains Bioregion
One of the most biodiverse and threatened bioregions on Earth, yet still one of the least surveyed, facing exceptionally high rates of unrecoverable biodiversity loss, and impacting an evolutionary legacy stretching back millions of years.
Straddling the borders of Lao, Viet Nam, and Cambodia, the Annamites hold a concentration of species found nowhere else, many of them described by science only in the last three decades. The current status of the bioregion is shaped by the countries’ rich natural and cultural histories, distinct political contexts, and an active development trajectory.
For this area of high biological diversity and ecological complexity, existing tools and methodologies for measuring biodiversity often fall short of providing reliable data and information. In addition, biodiversity data are scarce, reflect a history of sporadic collections that are difficult to replicate, and are heavily biased toward vertebrates. These are among the factors that render standard tools and methods more challenging to apply to the Annamites and, more broadly, to biodiversity across the Southeast Asian region. Global biodiversity mapping frameworks are far too coarse to tell a planner which valley matters most. If measurable biodiversity outcomes can be delivered here, they can be delivered almost anywhere.
—- WHAT WE ARE BUILDING
Two enablers of measurable conservation outcomes
Both the regulatory route and the market route to achieving effective ‘investable’ biodiversity conservation outcomes need two common enablers: a reliable current picture of biodiversity value, and well-defined biodiversity conservation areas with clear legal mandates to deliver positive biodiversity conservation outcomes. Neither exists at the resolution the Annamites require. We are developing both.
—- ENABLER 01
Biodiversity Value Mapping
Mobilizing advanced earth observation technologies and machine learning alongside biological science, for near real-time tracking of biodiversity value.
Current global mapping systems are too coarse for tropical countries with high biodiversity value, where greater spatial granularity is of utmost importance for effectively prioritizing and protecting habitats under immediate threat. Aggregated regional data obscure the local trends that decisions actually rely on.
We are developing an objective, transparent, and scalable Biodiversity Value Mapping system. In its proof-of-concept stage, we will build a methodology and prototype map of biodiversity value, defined by species richness, proportional representation, and near-term extinction probability.
- A planning tool: steer development projects away from the areas that matter most for biodiversity
- A monitoring and verification tool: track change in biodiversity value over time with an affordable, frequent approach to monitoring and verification, not once a decade
- Built for scale: methodology developed and vetted for transferability to other high-biodiversity, data-poor landscapes
—- ENABLER 02
Conservation Concession Investment Model
Leveraging an opportune policy window in Lao to establish a conservation concession investment model, linked to a high-integrity biodiversity credit scheme.
Conservation in the region has traditionally sat wholly in the public domain. In recent years Lao legislation has boldly introduced concession investment models in the service of national biodiversity conservation goals. Development partners are financing pilot activities, and investors and entrepreneurs, particularly in nature-based tourism, are building momentum. Most visibly, the first Lao Biodiversity Tourism Forum was jointly convened by the Government and prominent investors in August 2026.
Our initiative will launch a conservation concession project to deliver and demonstrate measurable biodiversity outcomes linked to nature-based finance schemes. Conservation concessions are not new globally, but they are new to Lao, and potentially a significant win for the conservation impact that this model can deliver.
- Clear, ring-fenced legal and management mandates over defined areas
- A basis for checking regulatory compliance and for issuing high-quality biodiversity credits
- Local professional conservation organizations at the center, for the best chance of in situ conservation in perpetuity
- A replicable template for other high-biodiversity developing countries
—- GLOBAL FRAMEWORK ALIGNMENT
Built to serve the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
Both enablers contribute to the global architecture for biodiversity conservation.
—- THE ANCHOR: GOAL A AND TARGET 4
“Halt human-induced extinction of known threatened species.”
Our approach to defining biodiversity value leads directly to metrics of extinction risk and their monitoring, and assigns higher value to species and communities with rising probability of extinction. Such metrics will help better identify targeted areas and actions to reduce extinction rates. It also tackles an even harder problem: most species heading toward extinction are not yet known, and cryptic or unrecognized species are poorly served by the framework as it stands. The Annamites, where large mammals were still being described in the 1990s, is the right place to test that.
Finally, launching the conservation concession model in the Annamites, while putting to the test a rigorous yet efficient means of monitoring and verifying outcomes, is an ideal setup to demonstrate viability for scaling up.
Target 3
Conserve 30% of land, waters and seas
Better identification of areas of particular importance for biodiversity, and the evidence to show that protected areas are ecologically representative and effectively conserved and managed rather than protected on paper alone.
Target 14
Integrate biodiversity in decision-making at every level
A user-friendly map lets governments, planners, and developers see biodiversity distribution and value and make informed decisions. It feeds directly into spatial planning, strategic environmental assessment, and environmental impact assessment, and supports the development mitigation hierarchy in practice.
Target 15
Businesses assess, disclose and reduce biodiversity-related risks
Large and transnational companies and financial institutions are required to monitor, assess, and transparently disclose their biodiversity risks, dependencies, and impacts. Biodiversity Value Mapping gives them the traceable, geo-referenced basis to do so along operations, supply chains, and portfolios.
Target 18
Reduce harmful incentives, scale up positive ones
The conservation concession model coupled with high-integrity biodiversity credits is a concrete positive incentive: a route for capital to reward measured positive biodiversity ‘gain’ outcomes rather than merely offset harm.
Target 20
Strengthen capacity-building and technology transfer
A core component of our initiative is developing local conservation sector professionals and organizational capacity to conserve Annamite biodiversity for the long term, ideally in perpetuity.
Target 21
Ensure knowledge is available and accessible
Our initiative will aim for open access in all endeavors: the map, the methodology, and the underlying data standards are intended to be public goods that guide biodiversity action well beyond a specific landscape.
We are also exploring how Biodiversity Value Mapping can support national reporting against CBD-GBF headline and component indicators, an area where high-biodiversity developing countries currently face the steepest reporting burden with the thinnest data.
—- WHO
A consortium, convened by the Saola Foundation & WCS Lao
We are inviting foundational partners to build this with us. The initiative is designed as a consortium because no single organization holds all the pieces. The Saola Foundation and WCS Lao, with starter funds from FCDO and ADB, are convening partners in the region and globally.
Conservation organizations
Bringing conservation science and practical expertise, including the management experience of planning and delivering biodiversity conservation through long-term commitment that makes in situ outcomes possible
Development financing institutions
Bringing standards and enabling blended financing to make conservation concessions investable and unlock nature financing
Space agencies
Mobilizing earth observation data and the latest technological and technical advancements to turn it into a biodiversity signal
Universities and research institutes
Ensuring scientific integrity and independent vetting in supporting the methodology development
Development project investors
Providing demand-side perspectives as users and investors requiring high-integrity biodiversity outcomes
—- MORE ABOUT US
Saola Foundation
A US registered nonprofit with activities operating in Lao PDR since 2022. The team is qualified by the unique expertise of its Technical Director and team, who bring the most comprehensive and extensive biodiversity survey experience in the Annamite region (Lao, Viet Nam, Cambodia), spanning a thirty-plus year period.
WCS Lao PDR
Operating in Lao since the 1980s and establishing its country office in 1994, WCS Lao PDR is a trusted long-term partner to the government for protected areas management and conservation policy development. WCS actively supports science-based in situ conservation and national policy development to provide strategic guidance to government leaders.
LET’S TALK
We would be glad to exchange ideas and build the network
If your work touches biodiversity data, nature finance, earth observation, impact mitigation, or conservation investment in Southeast Asia, we would welcome a conversation. We are looking for foundational partners, technical collaborators, and critical friends.
Our mission is to protect the rich biodiversity of the Annamite Mountains Bioregion by leading efforts to prevent unrecoverable biodiversity loss through a combination of direct interventions, empowering national conservationists, conducting applied research and priority setting, and collaborating with key stakeholders.