OECD-UNDP Virtual Global Conference on Biodiversity Finance

The OECD Biodiversity Land use and Ecosystems (BLUE) programme, and the UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) convened a joint virtual Global Conference on Biodiversity Finance as a milestone in the lead up to CBD COP15. This conference was originally planned to take place in Paris. However, due to COVID-19, the physical meeting is postponed to a later date. The objectives of this virtual series were:

• First, to examine trends and lessons learned in scaling up biodiversity finance and policy incentives.
• Second, to foster exchange, among governments and biodiversity finance experts, of experiences, best practices and opportunities for mobilising, tracking and aligning biodiversity finance.
• Third, to reflect on recommendations on biodiversity finance for the CBD post-2020 global biodiversity framework. 

Presentations

• AGENDA

Wednesday 15 April, 2020

Session 1: The State of Biodiversity Finance in 2020

Part A: Opening remarks

Moderator: Rodolfo Lacy, OECD Environment Director

• Brune Poirson, Secretary of State to the Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, France. Keynote on national experiences
• Alain de Comarmond, Principal Secretary, Environment Department, Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Seychelles. Keynote on national experiences

Part B: What we know today about the global biodiversity finance landscape

Moderator: Simon Buckle, Head of Climate, Biodiversity and Water Division, OECD Environment Directorate

• Edward Perry, OECD Biodiversity Land Use and Ecosystems programme (BLUE), An Overview of Global Biodiversity Finance
• Jeremy Eppel, member of CBD Panel of Experts on Resource Mobilisation, Resourcing the CBD Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020: Progress and Challenges
   

Session 2: Towards a New Paradigm for Tracking Biodiversity Expenditures and Effective Budgeting

Moderator: Mariana Bellot, Technical Advisor UNDP BIOFIN

• Mariana Bellot, Technical Advisor UNDP-BIOFIN, An Overview of Tracking Expenditures and Effective Budgeting
   

Part A. Biodiversity expenditure reviews and tagging

• Dewa Ekayana, Ministry of Finance, Indonesia, Biodiversity as a New Expenditure Category
• Hélène Perier, DG Environment, European Commission, Biodiversity Tagging in the EU Budget
   

Part B. Effective budgeting for biodiversity

• Armi Liinamaa, Ministry of Finance, and Marina von Weissenberg, Ministry of the Environment, Finland, Sustainable Development and Budgeting
• Fernando García, UNDP-BIOFIN, Guatemala, Integrating Biodiversity into Municipal Budgeting

Wednesday 22 April, 2020

Session 3: Identifying and Reforming Subsidies Harmful to Biodiversity

Moderator: Katia Karousakis, OECD Biodiversity, Land Use and Ecosystems (BLUE) programme

• Katia Karousakis, OECD Biodiversity, Land Use and Ecosystems programme, An Overview: Subsidies Harmful to Biodiversity and Examples of Best Practice to Enable Reform
   

Part A. Expert panel on national experiences with identifying and tracking subsidies

• Kai Schlegelmilch, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany, Fiscal Instruments for Biodiversity in Germany, with a Focus on Biodiversity Harmful Subsidies
• Aldo Ravazzi and Greti Lucaroni, Ministry of Environment, Italy, Identifying Biodiversity Harmful Subsidies in the Frame of Environment Harmful Subsidies: Italy
   

Part B. Expert panel on national experiences with reforming subsidies harmful to biodiversity 

• Gabriela Blatter, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland, Agricultural Subsidy Reform in Switzerland
• Lira Zholdubaeva, UNDP BIOFIN, Kyrgyzstan, Reforming Harmful Agricultural Subsidies Towards Green/ Organic Agriculture
   

Session 4: Estimating Finance Needs and Developing Effective Biodiversity Finance Plans

Moderator: Annabelle Trinidad, Technical Advisor, UNDP BIOFIN

• Annabelle Trinidad, Technical Advisor, UNDP BIOFIN, An Overview of Finance Needs Assessments 

Part A. Estimating Finance Needs for Biodiversity

• Yasha Feferholtz, Member of the Expert Panel on Resource Mobilization for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Estimation of Resources Needed for Implementing the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework: Preliminary Second Report of the Panel of Experts on Resource Mobilisation
• Armida Andres, Assistant Director, Biodiversity Management Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines, Estimating Finance Needs and Developing Effective Biodiversity Finance Plans: A Philippine Perspective
• Santiago Aparicio, National Planning Department, Colombia, Financial Needs Assessment: Colombia
   

Part B. Developing Effective Finance Plans 

• Vinod Mathur, Chairperson, National Biodiversity Authority, India, Biodiversity Finance Plan: The Indian Experience
• Fernanda Montero, Ministry of Finance, Mexico, Mexico’s Biodiversity Finance Plan
   

Wednesday 29 April, 2020

Session 5: The Private and Finance Sector as Biodiversity Leaders

Moderator: Onno van den Heuvel, UNDP BIOFIN

Scene setting

• Bård Vegar Solhjell, Director General, Norad, Opening Statement
• Onno van den Heuvel, UNDP BIOFIN, Engaging with the Private and Finance Sector – An Overview of Recent Trends and Developments
   

Expert panel 

Moderator: Onno van den Heuvel, UNDP BIOFIN

• Philippe Zaouati, Chief Executive Officer, Mirova
• Alice Durand-Reville, Corporate Public Affairs Director, Danone
• Anil Perera, Additional Director-Domestic Operations, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and Secretary to the Steering Committee on Sustainable Finance
• Gilles Kleitz, Director for Natural Resources, Agriculture, Water, Forests and Oceans, Agence Française de Développement
• Mabel M. Niala, Head of Public Relations and Communications Strategy, Corporate Affairs, CEO Office, GCash, the Philippines 

Session 6: A New Biodiversity Finance Agenda for 2021-2030

Moderator: Simon Buckle, Head of Climate, Biodiversity and Water Division, OECD Environment Directorate

High-level opening remarks

• Ning Liu, Negotiator for CBD COP15, Deputy Director General, Department of Nature and Ecology Conservation, Ministry of Ecology and the Environment, China, High-level Remarks
• Dr. Cheryl Case, Head of Biodiversity and Environment, DEFRA, United Kingdom, High-level Remarks 

 
Keynote

• Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica

Lessons learned on resource mobilisation for the post-2020 framework

Moderator: Katia Karousakis, OECD Biodiversity, Land Use and Ecosystems (BLUE) programme

• Tracey Cumming, Member of CBD Panel of Experts on Resource Mobilisation, A Strategic Approach to Resource Mobilisation in Support of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
• Country perspectives
• Ines Verleye, Belgium, Co-lead on Resource Mobilisation under the Convention on Biological Diversity, Reflections on the Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, including how this could build on the Berlin workshop and the OECD BLUE - UNDP BIOFIN Virtual Conference

Further reading 

A Comprehensive Overview of Global Biodiversity Finance (Français	Brochure: Tracking Economic Instruments and Finance for Biodiveristy 2020
Moving Mountains: Unlocking Private Capital for Biodiversity and Ecosystems	The Biodiversity Finance Initiative: BIOFIN Workbook 2018