The following document presents the current status of the work undertaken by the BIOFIN project in Colombia. In it you will find our financial strategy, the main products and results for each BIOFIN component: the Policy and Institutional Review, the Biodiversity Expenditure Review, the Financial Needs Assessment, and the Biodiversity Finance Plan. Finally, it presents some recommendations for future activities.

The following document presents the current status of the work undertaken by the BIOFIN project in Colombia. In it you will find our financial strategy, the main products and results for each BIOFIN component: the Policy and Institutional Review, the Biodiversity Expenditure Review, the Financial Needs Assessment, and the Biodiversity Finance Plan. Finally, it presents some recommendations for future activities.

The following document presents the current status of the work undertaken by the BIOFIN project in Colombia. In it you will find our financial strategy, the main products and results for each BIOFIN component: the Policy and Institutional Review, the Biodiversity Expenditure Review, the Financial Needs Assessment, and the Biodiversity Finance Plan. Finally, it presents some recommendations for future activities.

Aside from the inherent challenges associated with balancing numerous (sometimes competing, or even conflicting) objectives, PA managers often have limited guiding information at their disposal to set fees. This includes bench marking data on fees in similar attractions and in competing countries,  information about the PA offering, impression and expectations of visitors that determine their preferences and price points. Management authorities also increasingly relying on consumer research. Stated preference techniques (such as contingent valuation and choice experiments) as well as travel cost methods, which look at visitors’ willingness to pay (WTP), are particularly commonly used to inform PA pricing. Botswana had been no exception to the practice, this review combined most techniques appropriate to review and recommend new fees for Botswana protected areas. It also recommends revenue retention to support Botswana's efforts in responding to challenges such as its natural infrastructural maintenance and congestion along its wildlife hot spots areas. 

El documento expone a manera de resumen los principales elementos que caracterizan el FRSS, Fondo creado por la Consorcio Ecuatoriano de Responsabilidad Social y Sostenibilidad para apoyar desde el sector productivo privado, las estrategias nacionales de conservación de biodiversidad y lucha contra el cambio climático en el Ecuador.

Este manual esta concebido para facilitar la aplicación del marco legal vigente para la tarifa de autorizaciones de uso y aprovechamiento de agua cruda en el Ecuador. Surge como parte del proceso de asistencia técnica de BIOFIN a la Secretaría Nacional del Agua para contribuir a la conservación de la biodiversidad en cuencas hídricas.

Este documento presenta una proyeccion de potenciales nuevos ingresos a partir del análisis de la fórmula de cálculo de la tarifa de agua cruda y el uso de un factor diferenciador. Incluye el análisis económico financiero del impacto en la recaudación tarifaria en Ecuador, asumiendo diferentes escenarios de aplicación.

El documento analiza los sectores productivos privados autorizados para el uso y aprovechamiento de agua cruda en el Ecuador. El objetivo radica en priorizar aquellos sectores donde el ajuste de factores diferenciadores otorga la mayor oportunidad de incrementar la recaudación tarifaria para movilizar financiamiento hacia la conservación de recursos hídricos.

This Synthesis Report compiles the findings from three assessments conducted as part of the national Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) process in Thailand. The three assessments discussed include the policy and institutional review (PIR), the budget and expenditure review (BER), and the financial needs assessment (FNA). The PIR analyzes the policy and institutional context, identifies the biodiversity targets to be achieved, and lays out the context for the intended change in financing. The BER analyzes public and private expenditures for biodiversity and establishes past and projected expenditures on biodiversity. The FNA provides an estimation of the financing required to achieve identified biodiversity targets. The FNA also assesses the financing gap between the status quo of projected expenses and the estimated budget to meet biodiversity goals. Findings from these three assessments feed into the formulation of the country’s Biodiversity Finance Plan (BFP) and are used to develop prioritized finance solutions that are then taken into the implementation phase of the BIOFIN process. 

As the first phase of the national BIOFIN process in Thailand was completed in 2018, several lessons can be drawn. First, the large financing gap required to achieve national biodiversity targets requires increased contributions from all stakeholders including the private sector and citizens. Second, efforts to conserve and enhance biodiversity resources require the participation of all stakeholders, especially local governments and communities. The ideas embodied in the BIOFIN process could be utilized at the local level in order to have informed decision-making regarding budgeting for biodiversity. Third, data on biodiversity should be collected and a holistic database for biodiversity created. Data could be gathered by different agencies, with one central agency responsible for gathering all data into a single database. Finally, increasing the awareness of the importance of biodiversity in the younger generation is crucial to sustaining biodiversity resources into the future. Thus, activities towards this end should be encouraged.

Letter of Understanding (LoU) between the Centre of Marine Studies and Aquaculture -CEMA- of the University of San Carlos de Guatemala -USAC- and the Sport and Recreational Fishermen Association –EPESTURDE–.

To promote the sustainable use and conservation of Costal-Marine Biodiversity in the Guatemalan Pacific Shoreline, the collaborative strategic alliance was consolidated through a Letter of Understanding (LoU) between the Centre of Marine Studies and Aquaculture -CEMA- of the University of San Carlos de Guatemala -USAC- and the Sport and Recreational Fishermen Association –EPESTURDE–. This LoU sets out the governance system to implement the financial mechanism called: Socio-Environmental Fund for Sailfish Conservation and Artisanal Fishing Sustainable development which will raise funds from voluntary contributions derived from environmental service of tourist sport sailfish anglers.

The Socio-Environmental Fund will invest in the following priorities: i) Development of value chains in artisanal fishing, ii) Support in applied research, iii) Promotion of tourism, iv) Promotion of Sustainable infrastructure, and v) Strengthening institutional capacities. These priorities are focused on the promotion of sustainable development of artisanal fishing and the conservation of Sailfish.

This Synthesis Report compiles the findings from three assessments conducted as part of the national Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) process in Thailand. The three assessments discussed include the policy and institutional review (PIR), the budget and expenditure review (BER), and the financial needs assessment (FNA). The PIR analyzes the policy and institutional context, identifies the biodiversity targets to be achieved, and lays out the context for the intended change in financing. The BER analyzes public and private expenditures for biodiversity and establishes past and projected expenditures on biodiversity. The FNA provides an estimation of the financing required to achieve identified biodiversity targets. The FNA also assesses the financing gap between the status quo of projected expenses and the estimated budget to meet biodiversity goals. Findings from these three assessments feed into the formulation of the country’s Biodiversity Finance Plan (BFP) and are used to develop prioritized finance solutions that are then taken into the implementation phase of the BIOFIN process. 

As the first phase of the national BIOFIN process in Thailand was completed in 2018, several lessons can be drawn. First, the large financing gap required to achieve national biodiversity targets requires increased contributions from all stakeholders including the private sector and citizens. Second, efforts to conserve and enhance biodiversity resources require the participation of all stakeholders, especially local governments and communities. The ideas embodied in the BIOFIN process could be utilized at the local level in order to have informed decision-making regarding budgeting for biodiversity. Third, data on biodiversity should be collected and a holistic database for biodiversity created. Data could be gathered by different agencies, with one central agency responsible for gathering all data into a single database. Finally, increasing the awareness of the importance of biodiversity in the younger generation is crucial to sustaining biodiversity resources into the future. Thus, activities towards this end should be encouraged.