Europe and APAC report major gains in public funding for nature, and progress in Fintech and Gaming solutions, at the BIOFIN Regional Dialogue 2024

This year’s BIOFIN regional dialogue for Europe, Asia and the Pacific (EAPAC) was an inspired three days of exchanges on sustainable finance for biodiversity, with teams reporting breakthroughs in public funding for protected areas, and new financing streams such as fintech and gaming solutions gaining traction.    

The opening day was headlined by substantive gains in conservation finance through public policy change: Ecological Fiscal Transfers – national budgetary allocations that prioritize local conservation efforts reached US$144 million in Malaysia, the Philippines saw a cumulative increase of US$81.4 million for protected areas due to the Expanded National Protected Areas Law, and Kazakhstan tripling protected area finance since 2018 to US$70 million. 

The EAPAC dialogue, held in the picturesque Kakheti region of eastern Georgia saw policy and finance experts and government officials from 17 countries come together to track progress on biodiversity financing plans and resources for conservation in line with the targets in the Montreal-Kunming Global Biodiversity Framework.  

Held on 11-13 June, participants shared experiences ranging from improving protected area finance to the use of results-based budgeting and fintech solutions. 

Since its inception in 2012, the United Nations Development Programme Biodiversity Finance Initiative (UNDP-BIOFIN) has supported 41 countries in unlocking US$ 1 billion in public and private finance for nature conservation.  

Its innovative approach enables countries to measure current spending on biodiversity, identify financing needs and find appropriate financing solutions to close national biodiversity financing gaps.  

The EAPAC dialogue covered key topics such as shifting to biodiversity-friendly agri-food practices, impact investments, repurposing harmful subsidies, community engagement and national biodiversity strategies.  

DAY 1 

The event opened with welcome speeches by Solomon Pavliashvili, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Anna Chernyshova, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Georgia, Giorgi Kvesitadze, Senior Advisor of the National Academy of Sciences of Georgia, and Onno van den Heuvel, Head of the Biodiversity Finance Portfolio at UNDP. 

Following the opening session, day one focused on biodiversity finance in two sectors: finance and agriculture sectors.  

“From Theory to Practice: Integrating Nature, Business and Finance” presented leading practices and tools: 

• Gabriela Andrea Hermosilla Goncalves from UNEP FI discussed nature-based standards and frameworks that are essential for incorporating biodiversity into financial decision-making. 
• Zhang Bei from the People's Bank of China highlighted the G20's initiatives to promote finance for nature and emphasized the importance of nature-based data and reporting. She talked about the restoration of the Xiazhu Lake Wetland as a successful example of nature-based investment. 
• Anggi Pertiwi Putri from Directorate of Environment, Bappenas, Indonesia discussed the role of environmental data transparency and policy for sustainable biodiversity and business and presented the Indonesian AKSARA system and green business initiatives. She emphasized that reliable nature data promotes trust, accountability, and informed decision-making in the financial sector. 

The session ended with an exercise on integrating nature, business, and finance to channel financial flows into positive outcomes for nature. 

Synergies between sustainable agricultural practices and financial solutions focused on the intersection of agriculture and biodiversity: 

• Anna Kanshieva, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s biodiversity and science and innovation specialist discussed the impact of agriculture and food systems on biodiversity and promoted biodiversity-friendly practices. 
• Teona Karchava, Head of the Protected Areas Policy Division, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia emphasized the need to address the negative impacts of agricultural subsidies and the importance of robust monitoring systems. She emphasized the need to raise national awareness of the dependence on biodiversity and the urgent threats to biodiversity. Her vision is to repurpose harmful subsidies so that they benefit both biodiversity and agriculture. 
• Anabelle Plantilla, BIOFIN Coordinator in the Philippines provided insights on the reform of harmful subsidies in agriculture and focused on the partnership between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture. 
• M. Raghu Kumar Kodali, Advisor of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in India spoke about mainstreaming biodiversity in public finance and gave recommendations for integrating agro-biodiversity in public sector programmes. He outlined three approaches for resource mobilization under BIOFIN: reducing or repurposing harmful subsidies, generating additional subsidies and resources to achieve the CBD objectives and improving the efficiency of resource use. 
• Dr. Ruchi Pant, Head of Biodiversity in UNDP India explained the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) process and highlighted the importance of transparent digital systems and raising awareness among stakeholders. She explained a methodology to assess ABS potential, estimated at US$ 180.2 million per year, and the design of the voluntary certification scheme to incentivize ABS. 

The session highlighted the need for reforms to make agricultural programmes more nature-friendly and to focus on reducing chemical fertilizers, avoiding monocultures and sustainable water use. It also highlighted the positive impact of donor-funded agricultural programmes compared to government-funded programmes, the need for continuous monitoring and the importance of joint strategies and programmes between the agriculture and biodiversity sectors. 

On the second day, the entire group visited the Lagodekhi Protected Area and learned about the park's rich biodiversity from the head of the park. 

Day 3 

Participants spent the morning working together to create knowledge products, including video and podcast recordings and artworks. The following products were created: 

Four podcasts on: 

• digital finance solutions for nature from the Philippines,  
• increasing public funds for nature through Ecological Fiscal Transfer in Malaysia and Indonesia,  
• biodiversity finance and the BIOFIN journey, 
• the Silk Road to Scaling Nature Investment in China. 

Five 1-minute videos describing best practices and finance solutions from 

• India,  
• Indonesia,  
• Malaysia,  
• Nepal,  
• the Philippines, 
• Thailand. 

Artwork depicting the currencies of countries with endangered species and a map of harmful subsidies. 

The session on stakeholder engagement in repurposing harmful subsidies framed the key principles that should inform an engagement strategy: 

• The work plan should include a situational and economic analysis of subsidies, a mapping of key stakeholders, and consider conducting a broad-based perception survey on subsidies as a prerequisite to developing an engagement strategy. 

• Key considerations include the importance of language and wording, the use of terms such as "repurposing' rather than 'exit" to facilitate positive discussions. Mapping multiple scenarios helps to demonstrate the benefits to governments and stakeholders. 

• Successful examples include the UK’s Environmental Land Management (ELM), China’s national assessment of tax expenditures and the UK’s environmental screening for policy decisions. 

Findings emphasized the need for tax savings through subsidy reform, the social and political challenges involved and the importance of creating a roadmap for subsidy reallocation. 

The second part of Day 3 focused on financing protected areas, and national plans. 

Dr. Ruchi Pant from UNDP India led a discussion on financing Protected Areas (PAs). She emphasized the economic prudence of investing in biodiversity conservation. For example, the achievement of Target 3 of the Biodiversity Global Framework (GBF), which aims to conserve 30% of land, waters, and seas, will require an annual investment of US$103-178 billion. The economic returns could range from US$64 billion to US$454 billion per year by 2050. 

Participants engaged in table discussions to explore specific PA financing solutions from various countries: 

• Kazakhstan shared how legislative support for PA financing increased public spending on PAs, tripling since 2018 and reaching US $70 million. 
• The Philippines presented the Expanded National Protected Areas Law, leading to a US$81.4 million increase in the PA budget. 
• Malaysia discussed the adoption of BIOFIN’s recommendations on Environmental Fiscal Transfers (EFT), which resulted in US$144 million for biodiversity conservation. 
• Vietnam shared their progress in establishing a tourism fee system for Hon. Cau Marine Protected Area, expected to generate US$78,000 annually. 
• Mongolia presented a successful NGO-managed National Park, generating $0.3 million annually through eco-tourism, traditional dairy production, and donations. 

Tracey Cumming from the BIOFIN Global team discussed the role of Biodiversity Finance Plans (BFPs) in supporting National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). She explained how the various stages of BFP analysis can inform and enhance the development and revision of NBSAPs. An outline of these linkages between the two national tools can be found here.  

Conclusion 

The 10th BIOFIN Regional Dialogue on Biodiversity Finance allowed for wide-ranging discussions that deepened knowledge and supported the continued strengthening of connections between countries in these diverse and exciting regions.  These are valuable days spent each year, and we are grateful for the warm hospitality to the Georgian government and UNDP team.