Through BIOFIN, countries are working together to unlock biodiversity finance at scale

Achieving global goals to protect nature requires financial resources. Parties to the Convention agreed to mobilize up to $200 billion a year globally - the sum for Target 19 of the Global Biodiversity Framework. The work is already underway. Since 2018, UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) has helped 41 countries mobilize more than $2.7 billion in finance for nature. With the addition of GEF resources, 91 countries are now on track to draw up Biodiversity Finance Plans, setting the world on a path to achieve substantial progress towards achieving Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Ranging from blended-finance green bonds that mobilized private capital for infrastructure in Zambia, to the greening of stimulus loans for small and medium entrepreneurs in Ecuador, the Initiative gives countries access to hundreds of finance solutions that can be adapted and scaled to national contexts.

The Biodiversity Finance Plans that drive action in each of the 41 supported countries serve as a blueprint for expanding the basis for the financial support needed for biodiversity. This shows how financing to protect nature can go from short-term donor-funded projects to long-term domestic financing that is aligned not only with National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) but also with national plans for climate, land degradation and sustainable development. 

Recognizing this potential, the Initiative, with GEF support is scaling up beyond the original 41 countries and will help 91 countries develop Biodiversity Finance Plans, laying the foundation for long-term financing for nature, at scale. 

As these plans move from design to implementation, countries are expected to translate finance solutions into recurring domestic finance for nature.

Based on BIOFIN estimates, the GEF-supported cohort of countries has the potential to catalyze at least $10 billion per year in biodiversity finance by 2030, helping to deliver impact at scale and ensure that protecting nature and using it sustainably will continue in the years to come.

A few examples of BIOFIN in action:

Argentina – Reducing human–wildlife conflict through innovative risk finance

Photo credit: RoqueMatias/Adobe Stock

In Argentina’s Misiones province, BIOFIN and UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility supported the world’s first jaguar-protection insurance, designed to reduce human–wildlife conflict while safeguarding rural livelihoods and biodiversity. In Argentina, the jaguar is critically endangered largely as a result of revenge killings when they prey on cattle in ranches that overlap their territory. The insurance provides compensation for verified livestock and pet losses caused by jaguar predation, combined with technical support measures that promote coexistence. The scheme now reaches more than 100,000 people, illustrating BIOFIN’s role in translating biodiversity priorities into operational financial solutions under the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Ecuador – Realigning financial flows through inclusive green finance

Photo credit: CONAFIPS

In Ecuador, BIOFIN support has ensured that more than $1 billion in subsidized government loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises has been screened to meet biodiversity-relevant exclusion lists and sustainability criteria, significantly reducing environmental risks in credit allocation.

Working with CONAFIPS, Ecuador’s public development bank, BIOFIN demonstrated how biodiversity considerations can be embedded into mainstream financial systems at scale. More than half of the loan recipients are women-led businesses, and a quarter are under the age of 25, ensuring groups that are typically excluded by traditional banking channels now have access to credit with lower interest rates and longer repayment periods. 

Philippines – Greening and screening of subsidies, embedding biodiversity in national planning 

Photo credit: Katrina Bayaban/iStock

The Philippines’ Biodiversity Financing Programme, recently approved to be supported by the GEF’s Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, is a transformational initiative across the Philippines government. By embedding biodiversity into agricultural policies, local development planning, and public financing processes, the project will ensure a systemic shift from business-as-usual agricultural practices to the adoption of practices that are both environmentally sound and economically viable. The targeted agricultural landscapes specifically include Indigenous Peoples and local communities, prioritizing women and other marginalized groups. 

These efforts collectively position the Philippines as a leading example of Target 18 in action, showing how repurposing subsidies can unlock nature-positive investments, reduce environmental pressures, and accelerate delivery of the country’s updated Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2040. 

These initiatives are just part of the portfolio through which the GEF and UNDP are working together to help Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity achieve the target of mobilizing $200 billion a year in biodiversity funding, including up to $30 billion a year in international finance flows, setting the world to achieve the mission of the Global Biodiversity Framework: a future of life in harmony with nature.

Zambia – Enabling policy and financial architecture 

Photo credit: BIOFIN Zambia

In Zambia, BIOFIN supported the development of the country’s first-ever Green Bond Framework, enabling the policy and market foundation for mobilizing private capital in support of biodiversity goals under KMGBF Target 19.

Building on this framework, Zambia successfully issued its first green bond through Copperbelt Energy Corporation, financing renewable energy investments aligned with national environmental priorities. Through two issues, the country has raised $150 million for renewable energy, aiming to reach a target of $200 million this year.