Santo Domingo, 27 January 2026 — The Dominican Republic has formed a Biodiversity Finance Advisory Committee to support the development of its first national Biodiversity Finance Plan. The committee was established during an interinstitutional meeting convened by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, through its Vice Ministry of Climate Change and Sustainability, in coordination with UNDP.
The committee will help connect public policy, financial regulation and decisions about how resources are allocated to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. It will also guide the implementation of UNDP BIOFIN in the Dominican Republic, helping identify opportunities, challenges and areas where technical support is needed.
Its members include representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Superintendency of Banks and the Superintendency of the Securities Market. Bringing these institutions together is an important step towards making biodiversity finance part of wider economic and financial decision-making.
At the meeting, Vice Minister of Climate Change and Sustainability Ana Emilia Pimentel said the committee’s work forms part of the Ministry’s climate finance strategy. The Dominican Republic plans to develop its first national Biodiversity Finance Plan between 2025 and 2027. The plan will identify ways to finance the conservation and sustainable management of the country’s natural resources.
UNDP Resident Representative Ana María Díaz highlighted the importance of accounting for biodiversity within economic and financial systems. Healthy ecosystems support livelihoods and economic activity, while their degradation creates risks for both people and the economy.
Reviewing the policy and institutional landscape
The meeting also included a technical workshop on progress with the Policy and Institutional Review, one of the assessments that informs the BIOFIN process. Participants worked in four groups covering governance, the budget cycle, biodiversity targets and available finance mechanisms.
The discussions helped identify key institutions, sources of information and strategic priorities. They also examined barriers and opportunities that will inform the next stages of the country’s biodiversity finance work.
Government officials, public institutions, international organizations, financial sector and private sector representatives, academics and civil society organizations took part in the meeting. Their involvement will help align efforts to mobilize and use resources for biodiversity more effectively.
Through UNDP BIOFIN, the Dominican Republic is working to align public and private investment with its national biodiversity priorities and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The new committee provides a forum for the institutions that will help turn those priorities into a national finance plan.