NEWS
Ensuring nature positive insurance
Can the insurance sector help safeguard our natural capital? By Onno van den Heuvel and Jan Kellett Estimates show that…
Pakistan
Pakistan’s biodiversity and ecosystems underpin agriculture, forestry, fisheries, water security, disaster resilience, tourism and the livelihoods of millions of people. Yet biodiversity continues to face growing pressures from habitat loss, land degradation, unsustainable resource use, pollution, invasive alien species and climate change, while available finance remains insufficient to meet national conservation and restoration priorities.
Pakistan’s Finance Needs Assessment estimates that approximately US$13.5 billion will be required by 2030 to achieve the country’s National Biodiversity Targets and implement the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2025–2035. Meeting these needs will require more effective use of public resources alongside greater mobilization of private and international finance for nature.
UNDP BIOFIN, working with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, is supporting Pakistan to develop a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to biodiversity finance. The Policy and Institutional Review, Biodiversity Expenditure Review and Finance Needs Assessment have established a national evidence base on biodiversity expenditure, financing needs, institutional arrangements and opportunities to strengthen resource mobilization.
Building on these assessments, Pakistan is developing its Biodiversity Finance Plan to identify and prioritize practical finance solutions for improving existing financial flows and mobilizing additional resources for biodiversity. The process also supports stronger integration of biodiversity into public finance, national development planning and the country’s growing sustainable finance agenda, contributing to implementation of the NBSAP and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Finance solutions
Building on the PIR, BER and FNA, Pakistan is developing its Biodiversity Finance Plan and assessing potential solutions to improve the use of existing resources and mobilize additional public and private finance for biodiversity. The following solutions are currently at the idea stage and will be further assessed and prioritized through the BFP process.
1. National Biodiversity Finance Architecture
Establish a coordinated national framework for biodiversity finance, potentially including a National Biodiversity Finance Committee, to strengthen coordination across government and financial institutions, support resource mobilization and improve biodiversity investment planning.
2. Blended Finance and Green Bonds/Sukuk
Explore blended finance facilities and biodiversity-focused green bonds and sukuk to mobilize public and private investment for ecosystem restoration, protected areas and other nature-positive activities. This could build on Pakistan’s existing sustainable finance framework and experience with green financial instruments.
3. Reforming Environmentally Harmful Subsidies
Assess subsidies and incentives in sectors such as agriculture, energy, mining and fisheries and identify opportunities to redesign or repurpose measures that may contribute to biodiversity loss. Potential reforms could redirect public resources towards biodiversity-positive activities, ecosystem restoration and socially equitable transitions.
4. Corporate Biodiversity Finance and Disclosure
Explore measures to strengthen the integration of biodiversity into corporate and financial-sector decision-making, including nature-related disclosure, green and biodiversity-linked financial instruments, and fiscal or other incentives that could encourage private investment in nature-positive activities.
Key results
Establishing Pakistan’s Biodiversity Finance Process
UNDP BIOFIN Pakistan was officially launched on 17 December 2025, bringing together key government institutions and other national stakeholders to establish a coordinated approach to biodiversity finance.
Building Pakistan’s Biodiversity Finance Evidence Base
The Policy and Institutional Review, Biodiversity Expenditure Review and Finance Needs Assessment have been prepared, providing a comprehensive evidence base on biodiversity-related policies and institutions, expenditure patterns, financing needs and opportunities to strengthen biodiversity finance.
Quantifying Biodiversity Financing Needs
The Finance Needs Assessment estimates that approximately US$13.5 billion will be required by 2030 to achieve Pakistan’s National Biodiversity Targets and implement the NBSAP 2025–2035, providing an important basis for prioritizing resource mobilization and finance solutions.
Engaging Provinces and Regions in Biodiversity Finance Planning
Consultations have been conducted across Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan to validate findings, identify biodiversity finance priorities and ensure that provincial and regional perspectives inform the national process.
Strengthening Coordination and Capacity for Biodiversity Finance
The BIOFIN process has strengthened engagement among national and provincial governments, financial institutions, development partners, academia, civil society, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, women, youth and the private sector through technical assessments, consultations, validation workshops and policy dialogue.
Advancing Pakistan’s First Biodiversity Finance Plan
Evidence from the PIR, BER and FNA is informing the development of Pakistan’s Biodiversity Finance Plan and the assessment of potential solutions to improve existing financial flows and mobilize additional public and private investment for biodiversity.biodiversity finance through stakeholder consultations, technical assessments, validation workshops, and policy dialogue, laying the foundation for the implementation of biodiversity finance solutions.