為保育眾籌

香港地球之友綠色金融顧問Alexandra Tracy

大家可能不知道,世上首個有紀錄而又成功的眾籌項目發生在1997年。當年一支英國搖滾樂隊Marillion,為舉辦他們的巡迴演唱會而在網上向粉絲集資。隨著這個成功例子的誕生,首個眾籌平台ArtistShare在2000面世。自此之後,眾籌平台如雨後春筍般湧現,相關市場急速發展。

今時今日,全球很多有關生物多樣性和保育的項目都紛紛開始以眾籌方式募集營運資金。特別是在低收入國家,政府用於保育工作的資源有限,眾籌不止讓相關機構有機會獲得新資金,甚至能接觸千里之外的捐款者!

與帛琉同行

在2014年,太平洋島國帛琉決定在其領海中設立海洋保護區,眾籌在這個行動中擔當了重要角色。當地憲法規定,執政者須「採取正面的行動以保護美麗、健康和資源豐富的自然環境」,因此保育工作成為帛琉政府的重要綱領。該片海域是多種生物的棲息地,可以找到超過1,300種熱帶魚、700種珊瑚、7種硨磲蛤,以及部分世上最大型的海草床。

當地提出將23萬平方哩的水域劃為海洋保護區——面積相當於美國德州。設立保護區需要在科技方面投放大量資金,包括購置無人機、衛星、被動式監察浮漂以及建立艦隊和機隊等,才能維持和切實保護整個區域。除此之外,還要定期調查保護區的成效、向公眾宣揚並教育當地居民有關保護區的新措施,這些都需要有資金持續支持。

為了補貼部分成本,帛琉透過網上眾籌平台Indiegogo發起了名為「與帛琉同行(Stand with Palau)」的眾籌,是首次有國家以這種形式為海洋保育籌集資金。在來自世界各地近600名捐款者支持下,項目共籌得超過10萬美元。

資金與公眾關注

自此,眾籌漸漸成為各種保育項目接觸更多潛在捐款者的方法,由保育個別物種,到如帛琉一樣保育整個生態系統的項目都有。相比傳統的集資機制,例如經政府或大型機構獲得資金,眾籌所得的金額一般較小,但不少項目管理者認為,提升公眾對保育工作的關注度亦是眾籌的好處之一。這種方法有助保育項目接觸全球和新受眾,啟發更多人支持並將保育信息傳遞出去。

Crowdfunding for Conservation

Alexandra Tracy, Green Finance Advisor of Friends of the Earth (HK)

You may not know this, but the first recorded successful instance of crowdfunding occurred in 1997, when Marillion, a British rock band, funded their reunion tour through online donations from fans.  Following this success, ArtistShare became the first dedicated crowdfunding platform in 2000. Since then, many more platforms have been set up and the crowdfunding industry has grown significantly.

Nowadays, biodiversity and conservation projects all over the world are also turning to crowdfunding to generate the funding needed to support their work.  In low income countries, especially, where government resources for conservation are limited, this offers an opportunity to tap new sources of funding, even accessing donors who are thousands of miles away!

Stand with Palau

Crowdfunding was an important element of the actions of the Pacific island nation of Palau in 2014 to create a marine protection area in its territorial waters.  Conservation is central to Palau’s government, whose constitution requires its leaders to “take positive action to conserve a beautiful, healthful and resourceful natural environment.”  Its waters are home to more than 1,300 species of tropical fish and 700 species of coral, as well as seven giant clam species and some of the world’s most extensive seagrass beds.

Its proposed national marine sanctuary would cover an area of 230,000 square miles – equivalent in size to the state of Texas.  Establishing the sanctuary required significant investment in technology to maintain and enforce the protection of the entire area, such as drones, satellites and passive monitoring buoys, as well as a fleet of boats and planes.  In addition, ongoing capital was needed to research the effectiveness of the protected area, publicise the new rules and educate locals about them. 

To help cover some of these costs, Palau created the “Stand with Palau” crowdfunding campaign.  Through an online crowdfunding platform called Indiegogo, the programme raised more than US$100,000 from nearly 600 donors around the world, marking the first time that a nation state has mobilised this sort of capital for marine conservation.

Funds and Awareness

In the years since, crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular way of reaching potential donors for a wide range of conservation efforts, from protection of single species to preservation of entire ecosystems, as in Palau.  The capital raised may well be small compared to more traditional funding mechanisms, such as via governments or larger foundations.  However, project managers say the benefits of a campaign also include raising awareness of the conservation efforts.  It can be a way to reach a new – and global – audience and inspire more people to support the project goals and engage with their own networks to spread the message more widely.

旱災突顯水資源重要

【ESG分析師洞見分享】Ryan Fung, CESGA

從前人類迷信,把乾旱歸咎於神明和妖怪,後來才知道罪魁禍首是人類自己。全世界多個國家也遭逢旱災,中國有長江變「乾」影響水力發電;歐洲高溫導致萊茵河乾涸,影響航運業;印度乾旱也威脅到全球糧食供應,為全世界帶來實質的經濟損失。

氣象、水文、氣候和地球物理記錄表明,自 1980 年以來,與天氣有關的災害一直在增多,1980 年至 2019 年水文事件(hydrological events)的總體趨勢上升,此類事件的頻率增加,加上氣候變化,即意味著許多地區面臨乾旱。

現時歐洲正面臨 500 年以來最嚴重的旱災,截至 7 月中旬,歐洲 45% 的地區處於乾旱預警之下,其中 15% 已經處於紅色警戒狀態。據路透社報道,西班牙水庫的容量為 40%,低於 60% 左右的 10 年平均值。在挪威,水庫水位也低於 50%,而往年這個時候的水庫水位平均為 74.4%。近日,國際穀物理事會略微下調對全球穀物總量的預測,以反映歐盟的乾旱壓力,情況嚴峻。

旱災帶來的經濟問題十分多,也是一次向外界示範不容忽視 ESG 風險的好機會。缺水會直接對不少行業造成影響,大摩早前也發表報告,評估各行業主要的挑戰,當中能源生產商和公用事業是用水量最大的公司,同時水也是化學品、採礦、建築材料、食品和飲料、服裝、製藥、半導體和數據中心的關鍵資源。

簡單一個例子,不論是公用事業和工業,往往也牽涉到運輸物流及水冷系統,基本上直接影響產能。在四川,原本近 8 成電力供應來自水力發電,因當地政府需實行限電措施,影響部分汽車零件生產,導致上汽、特斯拉、豐田汽車等企業面臨零件短缺。

要解決問題,現在一些創新的技術解決方案,有海水化淡、農作品科學、智能灌溉、計量和數字解決方案以及垂直農業。當中比較常見的應該是海水化淡,現時全球約 97% 的水源集中在海洋,海水淡化是解決淡水短缺的可行解決方案,是最能適應氣候變化的供水來源之一,不受天氣模式、乾旱和氣溫上升的影響。不過目前的容量相當於淡水總需求的約 1%,預計未來 10 年,每年將增長約 9%,但缺點是昂貴,無法為農業提供廣泛的解決方案。

諷刺的是,旱災也不是百害而無一利,近日德州旱災,發現 1 億年前由恐龍留下的腳印,似乎令考古迷相當興奮,不過恐龍因敵不過氣候而滅頂的終局,又能否起警示作用?