Governments could support biodiversity projects in several ways. The most effective arrangement would be where a firm works together with at least two governments: The government where the firm is chartered, and the government that hosts the firm's ICO. As described above, the liaison consultant would work with the project's government to pay necessary bribes and obtain necessary permits. The government of the firm's home country would work to incentivize the ICO's government to keep corrupt officials from shutting down the project. They would do this with a carrot-and-stick strategy. The carrot would consist of authorizing aid to the project's government as long as the project continues; and the stick would be imposing sanctions on the ICO's government if the project is threatened. The firm's government would also contribute environmental monitoring resources through its environmental protection agency.
In addition, the firm's government would pass legislation to:
This arrangement means that firms would not be alone in their efforts to establish an effective ICO, rather, this would be a coordinated effort on the part of the firm and at least two governments. The new aspect of this arrangement is that a firm, rather than a government or a conservation-focused NGO, would be taking the lead in a project aimed at biodiversity conservation.
If you are interested in discussing how your agency might help firms to start biodiversity offerings with associated projects, please send a brief outline of your proposed initiative to haas@uwm.edu.