Lessons Learned Across Precompetitive and Multistakeholder Groups in Markets-Based Conservation

The document examines two types of collaborative platforms: precompetitive platforms (composed of competing institutions) and multistakeholder groups (MSGs, composed of non-competing entities). It identifies key success factors such as neutral leadership, science-based approaches, and data sharing, while highlighting common failures like lack of accountability, insufficient resourcing, and antitrust concerns. The report provides 19 examples of these platforms across various sectors, including aquaculture, agriculture, and waste management, to illustrate how collective action can address systemic conservation challenges that individual organizations cannot solve alone.

• Successful platforms typically share several characteristics: they have a clear focus, neutral leadership, and a commitment to shared principles. They set ambitious targets using "common, credible tools and methodologies to generate data" and prioritize the sharing of both successes and failures to build trust.
• Common reasons for platform failure include insufficient resourcing, loss of interest from key leadership, and the absence of enforceable accountability mechanisms. Additionally, corporate legal counsels often cite competition laws to prohibit information sharing, and a reliance on "philanthropy rather than those directly involved in markets" often leads to short-lived impacts.
• The inclusion of diverse stakeholders is critical for ensuring that solutions address both global concerns and local contexts, although achieving consensus in MSGs often takes longer. A significant weakness in many platforms is the under-representation of producers, who are "rarely present" despite being the primary object of discussion.
• The Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) demonstrated that precompetitive collaboration among producers can accelerate results; in six years, 60% of GSI production became ASC-certified, which was "3 times faster than either the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or MSC(Marine Stewardship Council) for any species."
• The African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC) and associated academies have successfully mapped the genetics of 76 crops and trained 151 plant breeders from 28 African countries, resulting in a "30X ROI on all training funds" through the raising of $165 million for crop improvement.
• In the Brazilian Cerrado, the Statement of Support (SoS) initiative failed to meet its funding goals for the Cerrado Funding Coalition (CCM) because contributions were voluntary and traders opposed the effort to halt deforestation, illustrating that market-based solutions fail when members are "unwilling to pay a per ton fee per purchase."

APA

WWF International (n.d.). Lessons Learned Across Precompetitive and Multistakeholder Groups in Markets-Based Conservation. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/475/hqhln3c0n_DEVINE_Pre_Competitive_MSG_Platforms_04_24_v14.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. Lessons Learned Across Precompetitive and Multistakeholder Groups in Markets-Based Conservation. n.d. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/475/hqhln3c0n_DEVINE_Pre_Competitive_MSG_Platforms_04_24_v14.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=Lessons Learned Across Precompetitive and Multistakeholder Groups in Markets-Based Conservation |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/475/hqhln3c0n_DEVINE_Pre_Competitive_MSG_Platforms_04_24_v14.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternationalndlessons, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{Lessons Learned Across Precompetitive and Multistakeholder Groups in Markets-Based Conservation}}, institution = {WWF International}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/475/hqhln3c0n_DEVINE_Pre_Competitive_MSG_Platforms_04_24_v14.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }