Financier performance standard misaligned with emerging nature positive requirements: An orangutan case study

Aimed at conserving biodiversity and sustainably managing natural resources, the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) Performance Standard 6 (PS6) is a key environmental safeguard for development projects. Among the species most affected by projects subject to PS6 are great apes, whose survival depends on stringent conservation measures. Of these great ape species, the three orangutan (Pongo spp.) species are rapidly declining due to habitat loss and fragmentation and unsustainable mortality rates. We assessed the types of net outcomes PS6 requires when development projects affect the habitat of Critically Endangered orangutans, which are highlighted in the PS6 for special protection needs. While PS6 may require relative gains—for example, slowing the rate of biodiversity decline compared to a deteriorating baseline—it falls short of requiring the absolute gains necessary to halt biodiversity loss by 2030, in line with international commitments such as the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Implementation of PS6 in areas of critical orangutan habitat is, therefore, unlikely to prevent further losses for species like orangutans. In the context of a review of the IFC's Performance Standards, which were last updated in 2019, we recommend revisions that align PS6 with global commitments to absolute improvements in biodiversity.