The Policy and Institutional Review has provided an important snapshot into the current policy, institutional, and finance landscape for biodiversity finance in Belize. The introduction and implementation of the BIOFIN in Belize, in and of itself, has raised the profile of biodiversity finance in Belize.
 

The Financial Needs Assessment (FNA) is the third output of BIOFIN, that assists in estimating the funds required to achieve the biodiversity targets of the country in accordance with the activities of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). It aims to assist policy makers in understanding the total cost implications for implementing each NBSAP activity and aggregates the total cost for all strategies and actions within Belize's NBSAP
 

The result of applying the BIOFIN approach in Belize is The Biodiversity Finance Plan (BFP) presented here as the fourth output of BIOFIN Phase 1. The Plan proposes a suite of biodiversity finance solutions, which are capable of raising the financial and other resources required to achieve the country’s biodiversity targets in accordance with the activities of the National Biodiversity Strategy
and Action Plan (NBSAP), the long-term development strategy Horizon 2030, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Belize acknowledges the urgency of effecting the finance plan given the reality that its economic stability strongly links to the conservation of its biological resources.
 

The Biodiversity Expenditure Review contains detailed data on public, private, and civil society biodiversity expenditures data. The BER engaged in assessing the expenditure status of investments pertinent to biodiversity conservation and environmental management throughout the period of 2012 – 2017.The overarching primary sectors and most pertinent agencies were identified and selected from
the Policy and Institutional Review’s prioritization “power and interest” matrix to undergo BIOFIN expenditure assessment. The BER focused its assessment on the key sectors and agencies which contribute both directly and/or indirectly to biodiversity conservation in Belize. 
 

This report compiles the findings from three assessments conducted as part of the national Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) process. 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.

BIOFIN Thailand assesses the policy and institutional context by classifying biodiversity resources into four ecological functions. The latter are terrestrial, marine and coastal, wetlands, and urban ecosystems. The PIR finds that the key document that sets national goals for biodiversity is the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). In addition to this, key policy documents include the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE)’s 20-Year Strategic Plan (2017 – 2036), and the strategic and action plans of important line agencies.

These policy documents are set within the context of national development policies, which are the 20-Year National Strategy (2018 – 2037) and the five-year National Economic and Social Development Plan (NESDP). For biodiversity, key implementing agencies are all within MONRE. Three agencies are especially important. They are the Royal Forest Department (RFD), the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation (DNP), and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR). Of these three, RFD and DNP are responsible for the terrestrial ecosystem while the DMCR’s mandate is with regards to marine and coastal ecosystems. There are no designated agencies that are directly responsible for wetlands and urban ecosystems. Biodiversity in these two ecosystems are overseen by a wide range of agencies. Nonetheless, given the number of projects and activities related to wetlands in the NBSAP, it can be said that the wetlands ecosystem is given much importance. While the majority of institutions working on biodiversity in Thailand are government agencies, non-profit organizations and some from the private sector have also contributed to biodiversity efforts. 

This supplementary guidance document to the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) 2018 Workbook aims to enhance public and private collaboration to unlock private capital for biodiversity and ecosystems. It is targeted towards biodiversity finance practitioners, financial institutions, conservation agencies, and private sector investors. It is BIOFIN’s ambition that it will assist them to find creative and appropriate private sector finance solutions for conserving biodiversity and ecosystems and, in doing, contribute to a growing global movement that is pushing the boundaries of private investment in conservation and monitoring closely the benefits, risks and accountabilities of this.