Biodiversity loss is a global challenge, but every country approaches biodiversity finance from a different starting point. Some are already implementing innovative finance solutions. Others are building the policies, institutions, and partnerships needed to mobilize new investments for nature. Despite these differences, many countries face remarkably similar opportunities and challenges.

During the BIOFIN Africa Regional Dialogue in Nairobi, Pierre Lanfranco, Environmental Finance Specialist for Africa at UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), brought together representatives from Madagascar, Senegal, and Morocco to discuss their experiences in designing and implementing biodiversity finance solutions. The conversation highlighted how countries at different stages of the BIOFIN methodology are translating analysis into action while preparing for the next phase of biodiversity finance ahead of CBD COP17.

Three countries, three stages of the BIOFIN journey

Although Madagascar, Senegal, and Morocco are all working toward the same objective, closing their Biodiversity Finance Gaps, they illustrate different stages of the BIOFIN process.

Madagascar, which joined BIOFIN in 2018, has already moved into implementation. The country is advancing several financing solutions, including results-based budgeting for the Ministry of Environment, financing mechanisms for protected areas, reforms to forest royalty systems, and initiatives to improve nature-related financial disclosure. It is also developing sustainable financing strategies for the blue economy, reflecting the country's rich marine biodiversity.

Senegal represents a country rapidly building the foundations for biodiversity finance. Having recently joined BIOFIN, it has already completed its Policy and Institutional Review, begun costing its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). These assessments have informed and supported the launch of works around a National Biodiversity Trust Fund and are supporting the strengthening of its legal framework through a new biodiversity law and related financial reforms.

Morocco is using evidence from its Policy and Institutional Review and Biodiversity Expenditure Review to identify early financing solutions while developing its National Biodiversity Finance Plan. The country is also exploring innovative approaches to engage the private sector through nature-related financial disclosure frameworks and biodiversity finance taxonomies.

While each country's journey is unique, their experiences reveal several lessons that extend far beyond national borders.

Lesson 1: Biodiversity finance starts with partnerships, not funding

One message emerged consistently throughout the discussion: biodiversity finance is not simply about finding more money. It is about bringing together the institutions capable of directing finance toward nature.

Across all three countries, speakers emphasized the importance of involving ministries of finance alongside ministries of environment from the very beginning. They also highlighted the need to engage local communities, private companies, financial institutions, civil society, and development partners.

Madagascar's experience demonstrates that biodiversity finance succeeds when environmental and financial institutions work together from the outset. Senegal similarly stressed that effective coordination across ministries and sectors is essential for transforming biodiversity priorities into investable actions.

BIOFIN provides more than a financing methodology, it creates a platform where stakeholders who rarely work together can jointly design solutions.

Lesson 2: Better data leads to better financial decisions

Another recurring theme was the importance of robust evidence.

BIOFIN's assessments, including the Policy and Institutional Review (PIR), Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER), and Financial Needs Assessment (FNA), help governments understand where biodiversity finance currently exists, where gaps remain, and which financing solutions are most feasible.

Madagascar highlighted the importance of regularly updating biodiversity expenditure and financing assessments to reflect changing investments and national priorities. Reliable data allows governments to make informed decisions and adapt financing strategies over time.

For newer BIOFIN countries such as Senegal and Morocco, these assessments are already helping identify priority financing instruments and guiding the development of national biodiversity finance plans.

Lesson 3: Biodiversity is an economic asset

Perhaps the strongest message from the discussion was the need to change how biodiversity is perceived.

Too often, biodiversity is viewed solely as an environmental issue. The speakers argued that it should instead be recognized as a fundamental economic asset that supports agriculture, fisheries, tourism, water security, and many other sectors.

Morocco's analyses have demonstrated the substantial contribution biodiversity makes to the national economy, while Senegal emphasized that investing in biodiversity today helps avoid far greater economic losses tomorrow.

For ministries of finance and financial institutions, biodiversity conservation should therefore be understood not as an additional expense, but as a long-term investment that protects economic productivity and reduces future costs.

Changing this narrative, from environmental spending to economic investment, is essential for mobilizing larger and more sustainable financial flows.

Lesson 4: Financing nature is not only about raising new money

Increasing funding for biodiversity remains essential, but the discussion highlighted another equally important opportunity: improving how existing resources are used.

Several speakers pointed to the need to reform environmentally harmful subsidies, improve the efficiency of public expenditure, and redirect existing investments toward nature-positive outcomes.

Senegal noted that many opportunities already exist through expenditure realignment, biodiversity trust funds, and strengthened policy frameworks. Morocco similarly emphasized that financing mechanisms should generate environmental, social, and economic co-benefits simultaneously.

Rather than creating entirely new funding streams, many countries can unlock significant resources by making existing finance work better for biodiversity.

Lesson 5: The private sector must become part of the solution

Public finance alone will never be sufficient to close the biodiversity finance gap.

All three countries recognized that greater private sector engagement will be essential in the years ahead.

Morocco is exploring nature-related financial disclosure frameworks and biodiversity taxonomies that can help direct private investment toward sustainable activities. Madagascar shared its experience assessing private sector readiness to disclose nature-related financial information, while Senegal highlighted the importance of communicating biodiversity in economic terms that resonate with businesses and investors.

The discussion underscored an important point: businesses depend on healthy ecosystems, and protecting biodiversity is increasingly becoming a matter of economic resilience and long-term competitiveness.

Common challenges remain

Despite encouraging progress, the speakers were candid about the obstacles that still need to be overcome.

Engaging ministries of finance remains challenging in many countries, particularly where biodiversity is still viewed primarily through an environmental lens. Limited awareness, fragmented institutional coordination, insufficient economic valuation of natural capital, and difficulties accessing private sector information continue to constrain biodiversity finance.

Several participants stressed that these challenges can only be addressed through continuous dialogue, stronger evidence, and better communication of biodiversity's economic value.

From planning to implementation

Although the three countries are at different stages of implementation, they all share a common direction of travel.

Madagascar is expanding implementation of multiple financing solutions, including sustainable finance for the blue economy.

Senegal is laying the institutional foundations through its Biodiversity Trust Fund, biodiversity legislation, NBSAP costing, and broader financial reforms while preparing a pipeline of investable biodiversity projects.

Morocco is advancing early financing solutions while developing its Biodiversity Finance Plan and exploring innovative mechanisms to mobilize private finance.

Together, these experiences demonstrate that biodiversity finance is moving beyond planning toward practical implementation.

Looking ahead to CBD COP17

As countries prepare for the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17), biodiversity finance is expected to be one of the defining issues on the global agenda.

The speakers expressed a shared hope that COP17 will generate stronger political commitment, greater financial ambition, faster access to funding, and increased recognition of the links between climate finance and biodiversity finance. They also emphasized the need to accelerate reforms that redirect harmful subsidies toward positive investments for nature.

Ultimately, the discussion reinforced a simple but powerful message: biodiversity finance is no longer just about identifying funding gaps. It is about building institutions, engaging finance ministries and the private sector, improving the effectiveness of public spending, and turning national biodiversity commitments into investable, implementable solutions.

Madagascar, Senegal, and Morocco may be following different paths, but together they demonstrate that the transition from biodiversity planning to biodiversity finance is well underway.

Watch the full conversation with BIOFIN experts from Madagascar, Senegal, and Morocco to hear their insights and experiences in full.