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A New Generation of Women Conservationists in São Tomé and Príncipe
Twenty young women are gaining the skills, networks and financial knowledge needed to protect the island nation’s unique biodiversity and…
Yemen
Yemen is home to diverse and globally significant ecosystems, from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden coasts and marine habitats to mountain landscapes, drylands and the internationally recognized Socotra Archipelago. These ecosystems support livelihoods, food and water security, agriculture and fisheries, while strengthening resilience to climate change.
Years of conflict and economic pressures have placed increasing strain on Yemen’s natural resources while severely constraining the financing available for their conservation and sustainable management. Biodiversity finance relies heavily on internationally funded programmes and sectoral projects, alongside limited public resources. At the same time, local communities continue to play an important role through traditional conservation practices and community-based natural resource management.
Strengthening biodiversity finance is therefore closely connected to Yemen’s broader recovery and resilience. Better coordination across environment, finance, agriculture, water and other sectors, more effective use of available public resources, and diversified sources of environmental finance can help integrate nature into national development and recovery priorities.
UNDP BIOFIN is supporting the Ministry of Water and Environment, the Environmental Protection Authority and the Ministry of Finance to build the evidence and institutional foundations for this transition. Through the Policy and Institutional Review, Biodiversity Expenditure Review and Financial Needs Assessment, Yemen is assessing how biodiversity is currently financed, determining future financing needs and identifying opportunities for new and improved finance solutions. This work will inform the development of Yemen’s Biodiversity Finance Plan and support implementation of national biodiversity priorities and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Finance solutions
Finance Solutions under consideration
As Yemen progresses through the BIOFIN assessments, several potential areas for strengthening biodiversity finance are being explored. These options remain at an early analytical stage and will be further assessed and prioritized through the development of the Biodiversity Finance Plan.
1. Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Public Budgeting
Explore ways to integrate biodiversity priorities and criteria into national and sectoral planning and budgeting processes. This could help ensure that available public resources better reflect Yemen’s biodiversity priorities and strengthen the links between environmental objectives and government expenditure.
2. Tracking Biodiversity Expenditure
Develop a systematic approach to identify, categorize and monitor biodiversity-related expenditure across government sectors and externally funded programmes. Better expenditure tracking would provide evidence on how biodiversity is currently financed and help inform future budgeting and resource mobilization.
3. Innovative and Market-Based Finance for Biodiversity
Assess the feasibility of innovative economic and financial instruments that could mobilize additional resources for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. Potential instruments would be evaluated according to Yemen’s institutional, economic and environmental context before being considered for implementation.
4. Strengthening Coordination for Biodiversity and Climate Finance
Strengthen coordination between environment, finance, agriculture, fisheries, water and other relevant sectors to better align biodiversity, climate and financial planning. Improved coordination could help identify synergies, reduce fragmentation and make more effective use of limited financial resources.
Key results
Establishing National Governance for Biodiversity Finance
Yemen has advanced the establishment of a high-level National Steering Committee, bringing together the Ministry of Water and Environment, Environmental Protection Authority, Ministry of Finance and other relevant institutions. The mechanism provides a platform for cross-sectoral coordination and oversight of the BIOFIN process.
Building the Evidence Base for Biodiversity Financing Needs
Through the Biodiversity Expenditure Review and Financial Needs Assessment, Yemen is working to establish a clearer baseline of biodiversity-related expenditure and financing needs. This will help identify financing gaps and inform future decisions on public budget allocations and resource mobilization for priority biodiversity areas.
Integrating Biodiversity Finance into National Planning
BIOFIN is supporting efforts to strengthen the integration of biodiversity finance priorities into national planning, institutional strategies and relevant climate and sustainability processes. This is intended to improve alignment between biodiversity priorities, sector planning and future financing decisions.
Laying the Groundwork for New Finance Mechanisms
The BIOFIN process is establishing the institutional and analytical foundations needed to assess potential finance solutions, including biodiversity expenditure tracking, improved public budgeting and innovative environmental finance instruments tailored to Yemen’s context.
