NEWS
10 ways UNDP BIOFIN is supporting countries to catalyze private finance for nature
Closing the biodiversity finance gap will require private capital on a scale. Across more than 130 countries, UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance…
Argentina
Bañado La Estrella
Argentina is one of the world's most biogeographically diverse countries, encompassing 18 terrestrial, marine and Antarctic ecoregions and hosting an exceptional diversity of ecosystems and species. These ecosystems provide critical services that sustain agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism, water security and climate resilience, making biodiversity a strategic asset for the country's long-term economic development.
The Province of Misiones is home to the Selva Paranaense, one of South America's most important biodiversity hotspots. Although it covers only around 1% of Argentina's territory, it harbours approximately 52% of the country's biodiversity, making biodiversity finance a strategic priority for the province.
The Province of Chaco forms part of the Gran Chaco, one of South America's largest and most biodiverse forest landscapes. Its extensive native forests and persistent land-use pressures make long-term financing for conservation, restoration and sustainable land management a strategic priority.
BIOFIN Argentina has been operating since 2022 through a hybrid national–subnational approach that reflects the country's federal institutional architecture, combining support to the National Government with direct implementation in Misiones and Chaco. At the national level, the programme focuses on strengthening the enabling conditions for biodiversity finance, while at the provincial level it works directly with governments to design and implement financial solutions tailored to local ecological, institutional and economic realities. Following the completion of its main biodiversity finance assessments and planning processes, BIOFIN Argentina has entered a new phase focused on implementing and scaling biodiversity finance solutions. The National Biodiversity Finance Plan, together with the Biodiversity Finance Plans developed for Misiones and Chaco, provides complementary roadmaps for mobilizing and improving finance for biodiversity across different levels of government. BIOFIN Argentina is currently implementing a diversified portfolio of finance solutions in partnership with governments, financial institutions, civil society and other strategic partners.
Finance solutions
Jaguar Protection Insurance – Misiones: The world's first insurance mechanism specifically designed to address human–wildlife conflict involving jaguars. The scheme compensates livestock producers for losses caused by jaguar predation, reducing incentives for retaliatory killings while supporting species conservation and rural livelihoods.
Jurisdictional REDD+ Programme – Misiones: BIOFIN supported Misiones in the development of its jurisdictional REDD+ programme under Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ (JNR) Framework. In 2026, Misiones became the first jurisdiction globally to have a government-led forest carbon programme approved and registered at jurisdictional scale under this framework. The programme generated approximately 10.2 million tonnes of verified emission reductions for the 2017–2022 period, creating significant potential to mobilize long-term finance for forest conservation.
FIRE Argentina & Nature Finance Guide: Complementary tools developed to strengthen access to biodiversity finance. The Nature Finance Guide supports project developers in identifying and structuring financing opportunities, while FIRE Argentina provides an online platform connecting biodiversity projects with national and international funding sources.
Art for Biodiversity – Chaco: An innovative initiative being developed to mobilize private resources for biodiversity conservation and restoration through art. Its first initiative centres on the donation of the Rosa por la Paz by Argentine artisan Juan Carlos Pallarols, with proceeds intended to support native forest restoration in Chaco.
Biodiversity Credits Feasibility Study – Misiones: BIOFIN assessed the feasibility of developing a biodiversity credit mechanism in Misiones, exploring opportunities, institutional requirements and safeguards for mobilizing private finance for biodiversity conservation.
Environmentally Harmful Subsidies Reform: BIOFIN assessed 68 potentially harmful subsidies and incentives at national level and in Misiones and Chaco, creating an evidence base to identify reform opportunities and explore ways to redirect or improve public expenditure in support of biodiversity-positive outcomes.Corporate Sponsorship for Protected Areas: Following the completion of a legal and feasibility assessment, BIOFIN is supporting the National Parks Administration in developing the operational and regulatory framework required to enable corporate sponsorship as a complementary source of financing for protected areas.
Key results
BIOFIN Argentina has consolidated its transition from biodiversity finance assessment and planning toward implementation, establishing complementary national and subnational pathways to increase, improve and mobilize finance for biodiversity.
National-Level Achievements
BIOFIN completed the Policy and Institutional Review (PIR), Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER), Financial Needs Assessment (FNA) and National Biodiversity Finance Plan (BFP). The National BFP identifies 11 priority finance solutions with an estimated financial potential of approximately USD 3.87 billion over a 10-year horizon.
Together, these assessments provide an evidence-based framework for biodiversity finance and have enabled BIOFIN to move toward implementation. Current initiatives include FIRE Argentina and the Nature Finance Guide, work on environmentally harmful subsidies and incentives, the development of a corporate sponsorship mechanism for national protected areas, and exploratory work on financial incentives and mechanisms to support Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs).
Subnational Progress
In Misiones, BIOFIN completed the PIR, BER, FNA and Biodiversity Finance Plan. The Plan identifies nine priority finance solutions with an estimated financial potential of approximately USD 418 million over 10 years.
Implementation is advancing through several mechanisms. The Jaguar Protection Insurance introduced an innovative approach to reducing conflict between livestock production and jaguar conservation, while the province's jurisdictional REDD+ programme was registered under Verra's VCS Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ framework in 2026, generating approximately 10.2 million tonnes of verified emission reductions for the 2017–2022 period. BIOFIN has also explored the feasibility of biodiversity credits as a potential new source of conservation finance.
In Chaco, BIOFIN completed and validated the Biodiversity Finance Plan, which identifies eight priority finance solutions adapted to the province's ecological, productive and institutional context. The programme has now been implemented, including initiatives such as Art for Biodiversity and the development of other priority financial solutions aimed at strengthening finance for native forest conservation, restoration and sustainable land management.
Across the National, Misiones and Chaco Biodiversity Finance Plans, BIOFIN Argentina has identified 28 priority finance solutions, creating a diversified pipeline for implementation and scaling across different levels of government.
