Argentina
Argentina officially started its methodology phase in March 2022. It is a megadiverse country, and BIOFIN has developed a sub-national strategy focusing on the Provinces of Misiones and Chaco, which are rich in biodiversity.
Argentina is one of the countries with the greatest biogeographical diversity in the world. It has 18 ecoregions: 15 continental, 2 marine and 1 in Antarctica. They harbour a great diversity of species, eight of which have been classified as having the highest priorities for worldwide conservation.
Misiones preserves 52% of Argentina´s biodiversity and hosts one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, the Atlantic Forest. It is also the only carbon-negative province in the country.
Chaco is part of the Gran Chaco Americano. This ecosystem constitutes the largest forest mass in South America, after the Amazon. The wide variety of environments that it presents, such as forests and shrublands, grasslands, savannahs, estuaries, and wetlands, translates into a vast diversity of plant and animal species that make this region a key area for the conservation of biodiversity.
BIOFIN Argentina is implementing a hybrid methodology: Subnational – National and Analytical – Pragmatic approach. Political governance and articulation between national and sub-national authorities regarding natural resources management is of the utmost importance in Argentina since provinces have control of their natural resources under national legislation. The analytical-pragmatic approach is important because it allows working on a good diagnosis of the national and provincial situation while identifying financial solutions already being implemented in the territory. This generates support from the program to improve its effectiveness.
The National Steering Committee was created and held the first and second working session, formally starting activities in April 2022 with the participation of main stakeholders; National Ministry of Economy, National Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development: National Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sub-national Ministry of Climate Change from Misiones, and Sub-national Secretary of Environment and Sustainable Territorial Development from Chaco.
BIOFIN Argentina core team is fully operational with the National Coordinator, Senior Financial Lead and a Finance Project Assistant. Moreover, the consultants for the Policy and Institutional Review (PIR) and the Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER) also carry out the corresponding diagnoses, analyses and reports.
In terms of the institutionalization of the program in the country, it is worth mentioning the creation of an External Financing Work Group of the Sub-national Ministry of Climate Change from Misiones together with the National Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, with BIOFIN as part of the agenda.
BIOFIN Argentina expects to:
- Complete PIR, BER and FNA by 2023
- Complete BFP by 2024
- Work along with national and subnational authorities in enhancing current finance solutions during the process
Argentina has made progress on the early implementation of financial solutions.
- Launch of Jaguar Protection Insurance (2025): This pioneering insurance mechanism in Misiones mitigates human-wildlife conflict by compensating farmers for livestock losses caused by jaguar predation. By providing timely and fair compensation, it helps reduce retaliatory hunting and promotes coexistence with this iconic species.
- Launch of FIRE Argentina & Nature Finance Guide (2025): This integrated platform and guide improve access to biodiversity funding in Argentina. The guide equips public institutions, the private sector, and civil society with tools to design robust biodiversity projects and identify funding opportunities. FIRE Argentina builds on these resources through a user-friendly digital platform that centralizes and facilitates access to national and international finance.
- Subsidy Analysis and Environmental Impact Study (2025): This ongoing analysis identifies and quantifies environmentally harmful subsidies at the national level and in the provinces of Chaco and Misiones. It provides evidence-based recommendations to redirect financial flows toward biodiversity-positive outcomes.
- Feasibility Study for Corporate Sponsorship of Argentina’s National Parks (2025): This ongoing consultancy explores the legal and financial feasibility of engaging private sector companies as sponsors of Argentina’s national parks.
- Jurisdictional REDD+ Program in Misiones (2025): This financial solution supports the final stage of the carbon credit issuance process for the first implementation period (2017–2022) of Misiones’ Jurisdictional REDD+ Program, registered under the Verra VCS-JNR standard.
- Feasibility Study on Biodiversity Credits in Misiones (2025): This ongoing study assesses the potential for establishing a biodiversity credit mechanism in Misiones, laying the groundwork for innovative, market-based financing aligned with conservation goals.