Representatives from the public and private sectors, academia, civil society and international cooperation organizations gathered in Montevideo for the launch of UNDP BIOFIN, the Biodiversity Finance Initiative, which seeks to transform how resources are mobilized and used to conserve nature.
Held at the Executive Tower’s Annex Building, the event provided a space for dialogue and collaboration on innovative approaches to financing biodiversity, integrating a gender perspective and closing the gap between available resources and the country’s growing needs. In their opening remarks, Paloma Morazo, UNDP’s interim Resident Representative in Uruguay; Estela Delgado Gargiulo, Director of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (DINABISE) at the Ministry of Environment; and Martín Clavijo, Director of the Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation (AUCI), emphasized the urgency of aligning finance with international commitments and advancing practical solutions for a sustainable future.
The technical sessions brought together diverse perspectives and experiences. Ana Laura Mello, Manager at DINABISE within the Ministry of Environment, presented the update to the National Biodiversity Strategy, while María Luisa Olivera Favretti, an economist in the environmental unit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), explored the links between the economy and the environment. Providing a regional perspective, Nicolás Xanthopoulos, UNDP Environmental Finance Analyst for Latin America and the Caribbean, shared lessons and experiences relevant to Uruguay. Magdalena Borges, BIOFIN Project Lead in Uruguay, explained the initiative’s methodology, and technical team member Darío Dornel Martínez facilitated a participatory workshop to jointly develop innovative finance solutions.
Throughout the day, participants explored good practices, financial analysis methodologies and tools for integrating biodiversity into public policies and financing systems. These discussions shared a common objective: to close the gap between available and required resources and align national action with Uruguay’s international environmental commitments.
BIOFIN follows a five-step process: a Policy and Institutional Review, a Biodiversity Expenditure Review, a Financial Needs Assessment, the development of a Biodiversity Finance Plan and its implementation. This approach has already demonstrated its impact in more than 40 countries. Uruguay now joins this global effort with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), under the leadership of the Ministry of Environment and UNDP Uruguay, and with support from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP), the Office of Planning and Budget (OPP), the Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation (AUCI) and the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU).
Through this initiative, Uruguay aims to advance innovative biodiversity finance approaches and develop solutions that protect its natural wealth for future generations.