Knowledge base

The BIOFIN Financing Plan for the Philippines is based on insights gleaned from the results of the three BIOFIN workbooks: the Policy and Institutional Review; the Public and Private Biodiversity Expenditure Review; and the Finance Needs Assessment Plan. This plan acknowledges the importance of tapping additional financing to support NBSAP but is also cognisant of the parallel challenges that could not be addressed by generating financing alone . Thus, the Plan transcends the focus on generating additional resources but instead, identifies a range of "finance solutions" that leverage finance, fiscal and economic tools and strategies to improve the outcome of biodiversity objectives in the country. Financing solutions include a range of transformative actions that include generating more financing to fund the NBSAP or associated planning documents; appropriate attribution of biodiversity expenditures in the budget; attaining cost effective budget execution by eradicating overlaps in biodiversity function s; eradicating expenditures that continue to or aggravate dissipation of biodiversity resources; and paving the groundwork for a responsive policy environment through greater awareness on biodiversity and biodiversity financing and enhancing institutional support towards monitoring of NBSAP.

More than PHP 5 billion is targeted to be raised by BIOFIN within the six year medium term planning period conforming to the incoming administration of presumptive President  Rodrigo  Duterte.  PHP 3 billion is to be sourced from increased public sector budget either through debt swaps, conservation incentives/ecological fiscal transfers, or through the flotation of a Sovereign Green Bond. Another 1.2 billion is to be tapped by working with local governments, civil society organisations and state universities and colleges to prepare and submit proposals eligible for funding under two earmarked funds: Energy Regulation 1-94 and the People's Survival Fund. Through realignment of expenditures within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, another PHP 0.5 billion pesos would be tagged as contributing to biodiversity with the entire effort of tagging resulting to better understanding of the pervasiveness of biodiversity in the agenda of the department. Lastly, traditional ODA sources shall be tapped amounting to PHP 0.6 billion, based on the historical uptake of grants.

Each financing solution is translated into a work program for BIOFIN that shall serve as guidance for implementation of Component 4 from hereon till end of 2017. In conclusion, the "call to action " invokes an area of work on financing solutions that "deliver better" and "avoid future expenditures" and recommends for the BIOFIN method to be applied in preparing for these next batch of financing solutions.

An informative poster from BIOFIN Chile outlining Biodiversity Finance and proposals for strengthening finance for conservation in the country.

The overall objective of this Policy Brief is to review the significant contribution

of Thailand’s biodiversity resources to the country’s economic growth, economic

well-being and to the livelihood of the people of Thailand. In so doing, this

Policy Brief aims to provide impetus to the on-going effort to strengthen the

institutional and legal framework and to mobilize further resources to the

conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity resources in the country.

A detailed poster featuring information about biodiversity and ecosystems services in Chile

Taking off from the key findings of the Policy and Institutional Review of the BIOFIN Method, this

PPBER revisits and expands the institutional profile of public sector agencies that contribute to

PBSAP implementation and/or marked as contributing to the 20 Aichi targets. Using time series data

across all agencies, budget data was collected and tagged using a Biodiversity Relevance Factor

(BRF), developed specifically by BIOFIN Philippines. This BRF is an index that emerged from the

costing of the NBSAP with a relational tagging to the Aichi targets.

Una respuesta innovadora

Ante la situación actual de la biodiversidad se hace necesario brindar una respuesta que esté a la altura del desafío que implica revertir su deterioro y lograr un cambio sustancial para bien. Para esto se creó una estrategia innovadora, con un plan de acción que operacionaliza la Política Nacional de Biodiversidad 2015-2030 y permite un monitoreo frecuente para dar seguimiento a su avance

This Report provides a compilation and synthesis of available information on resource/ecosystem valuation in the Philippines as part of BIOFIN’s attempt to make a case in financing biodiversity conservation in the Philippine. It is hoped that government and various stakeholders can gain better appreciation and understanding of the breadth and value of the diversity of our ecosystems, and sustain - even increase, the current efforts and funding for the management and conservation of the environment for future generations.

In Bhutan, efforts are underway to combine processes to develop an integrated financing strategy to ensure a pro-poor sustainable financing of environment, biodiversity and climate change. The proposed integrated financing framework encompasses an analysis of current policies, institutions and processes; building partnerships among sectors; and a common green resource mobilization plan. A combined methodology integrating processes of Climate Finance and BIOFIN has been proposed based on the stepwise approach that countries can adapt.

BIOFIN Mexico is an intersectoral initiative focusing on analyzing public policies, stakeholders, and expenditures that impact biodiversity. The initiative is identifying opportunities for additional resource mobilization to increase investments towards biodiversity and ecosystem services, which are key for economic and social wellbeing. The initiative is implemented by the BIOFIN National Team in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, the National Commission of Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity, the National Commission for Protected Areas, and the National Forestry Commission.