Knowledge base

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.

Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER) was conducted within the framework of the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) project in Mongolia. The review covered biodiversity expenditure from 2008-2018 incorporating political and economic impacts. BER analysis was conducted according to the BIOFIN Workbook methodology and included the annual expenditures by state and local budgets as well as the funds by the donor and international organizations. The economic status of Mongolia during this review period can be divided into two periods: (i) a period of regional and local economic crisis (2008-2010, 2013-2015); and (ii) a period of economic growth (2011-2012, 2016-2018).

During the crisis period,    the fiscal policy focused on    “reducing the budget and cutting out tolerable expenditures”, while the growth period aimed at    “increasing the salaries of civil servants and pension funds step-by-step in accordance with the global economic growth and mineral prices”. In addition to reviewing the public budget expenditures on conservation-related activities, expenditures related to the projects on sustainable use of biodiversity, improvement of legal and regulatory frameworks, funded various donors or international organizations, were also analyzed.  The consulting team has identified biodiversity relevant activities and stakeholders that contribute to achieving the goals and objectives of the National Biodiversity    Program.    Based on the stakeholders’    identification,    the information was collected from 90 projects, of which 71 were implemented by 11 different organizations and the remaining 19 were by government agencies.  

It was estimated that the total biodiversity expenditure during 2008-2018 was 207.7 million USD, which amounts to 0.35%-0.79% of total State budget expenditure and 0.15%-0.25% of the total GDP; and the average annual biodiversity expenditure was 13.3-25.5 million USD. Analysis of the annual expenditures showed that the most significant decrease of    12%    and    21%    was observed in 2012 and 2016, respectively, which can be attributed to the 15.3% and 42% decrease of the state budget. Although the total State budget expenditures increased by 21% and 7% in the respective years, the expenditure on deforestation was reduced by 3 folds in 2012 as compared to the previous year, while the specially protected areas (SPAs) expenditure was reduced by 21% in 2016. Both 2012 and 2016 were the quadrennial election years, thus suggesting that political activities affect the expenditures on biodiversity and conservation.

The most significant periods of growth in biodiversity expenditures were observed in 2013 and 2017, immediately after the decline from the previous election years. It can be explained by the direct increase of funding from the State budget, as it was normalized back to the pre-election period. The increased expenditure can also be attributed to the approval of a higher number of projects by donors and international organizations. Financing from State and local budgets account for 44.4% of the total funding for biodiversity expenditures, with the remaining 55.6% were provided by donors and international organizations.

The total biodiversity budget and expenditures largely depend on the revenue generation of the State budget. The public budget allocation related to biodiversity was categorized according to the strategic areas, goals, and objectives of the National Biodiversity Program and the Aichi targets. To reflect the impacts of the inflation rate in the biodiversity expenditure, actual exchange rates of each particular year was applied. Appendix 1 shows the detailed estimation of expenditures for 2008-2018 according to the goals and objectives

This report aims at identifying the required financing needs for the implementation of the Medium-term Action Plan /hereafter referred to as medium-term plan/ of the National Biodiversity Program (NBP) Mongolia. The financing needs have been defined by the identified activities, yearly needs and by NBP strategic areas. The financing gap for the implementation of the medium-term plan is estimated at 136.6 million MNT or 51.8 million USD.

It was estimated that 74.7-84.3% of the total required funding of the strategic areas #1 and #2 are deficient, which amounts to 95.7% of the total NBP financing gap. In contrast, the financing gap for strategic areas #3 and #4 is relatively small. Nevertheless, funding the financing gaps of the strategic areas 3 and 4 should be prioritized by establishing the legal frameworks for economic incentives and ecosystem payments. It would further rationalize the use and conservation by increasing private sector participation and find solutions for future financing needs and/or reducing the future costs from environmental damages and degradation. The relevant data from six ministries and one government agency, which was used for this report, were collected through the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), whereas the data from international organizations were collected through the respective project coordinators. An official letter, signed by the State Secretary of MET, requesting the implementation status of the medium-term plan during 2016-2018, and the planned activities for 2019-2021 was sent to the six ministries, GASI, NSO, and MOF on 9 March 2019.

As of 1 May 2019, a response was received from the MCUD, MOE, and MMHI, however, these ministries notified that they did not receive any official information regarding measures/activities of the medium-term plan that they should be in charge of. Therefore, no expenditures occurred, or no funding was budgeted for the NBP activities. A response from the ministries other than MET was not received, and the 2020 Fiscal Framework has not been formally approved; thus, related information was not included in this report. The assessment of data and information on 9 donor projects and 36 projects funded by international organizations was carried out. The report included information on 25 projects that are relevant to the respective goals of the program.

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.