Innovative financing solutions to advance biodiversity conservation

21 November 2024: Globally, USD 150 billion is invested in biodiversity annually, but this falls short of the USD 824 billion required to meet conservation needs. Bhutan faced a financing gap of USD 75 million to implement its 4th National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) and achieve biodiversity targets of the 12th Five Year Plan. 

The capacity building workshop was held in Thimphu for a day, covering important topics. | UNDP Bhutan / Karma Jamtsho

As part of continued efforts to promote innovative financing solutions for biodiversity conservation, UNDP engaged stakeholders from the key government agencies working in the biodiversity space in a tailored day-long workshop on biodiversity financing. The representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Department of Tourism, the Department of Forests and Park Services, and the National Biodiversity Center were introduced to innovative financing tools and strategies.

The Royal Government of Bhutan in partnership with UNDP launched four Biodiversity Finance (BIOFIN) solutions last year. | UNDP Bhutan / Dechen Wangmo

“With Bhutan’s graduation from the Least Developed Countries’ category, access to financing from global funding windows have become limited. In light of this and other challenges, the need to pursue innovative financing solutions are crucial for Bhutan as it works towards achieving national and global biodiversity outlined in the 5th National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and Kungming-Montreal Global Biodiveristy Framework,” said Dr. Karma Dema Dorji, Programme Director of the National Biodiversity Centre.

The sessions combined presentations with engaging interactive elements, including Q&A discussions and experience sharing. | UNDP Bhutan / Karma Jamtsho

UNDP through its BIOFIN initiative works with 40 countries, including Bhutan, to catalyze investments in nature. BIOFIN was initiated at the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in 2012, by UNDP and the European Commission in response to the urgent global need to divert more finance from all possible sources towards global and national biodiversity goals.

Pierre Lanfranco, the Environmental Finance Analyst for Global BIOFIN. | UNDP Bhutan / Karma Jamtsho

BIOFIN stimulates investments that not only protect biodiversity, but let it flourish, create jobs and opportunities for communities and secure a sustainable future for people and the planet.

In Bhutan, UNDP is supporting the government in implementing four biodiversity financing solutions launched in 2023. The solutions are institutionalizing biodiversity and climate expenditure reviews, mainstreaming biodiversity into local development plans, boosting eco-tourism revenues and redesigning human-wildlife conflict insurance scheme.

Strengthening collaboration between government counterparts to create a transformative change for people and nature. | UNDP Bhutan / Karma Jamtsho

A key focus of the workshop was aligning these and new financing solutions with Bhutan’s 5th NBSAP to promote a nature-positive economy towards meeting the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) targets and goals. In line with this, UNDP is working with the Royal Government of Bhutan in upscaling its existing financing solutions and devise new solutions.

Andrew Seidl, Senior Technical Advisor for Global BIOFIN | UNDP Bhutan / Karma Jamtsho

“Rather than simply spending money with the hope of improving biodiversity outcomes, we are setting clear targets and localizing solutions to be more efficient, effective, and to avoid future costs of our actions today,” said Andrew Seidl, Senior Technical Advisor with UNDP BIOFIN.

The workshop highlighted Bhutan’s achievements and ongoing efforts to integrate biodiversity into national and local plans while promoting global collaboration. | UNDP Bhutan / Karma Jamtsho

Participants explored the BIOFIN methodology, including policy and institutional reviews, financial needs assessments, and expenditure tracking. They also engaged in learning sessions on financial mechanisms already being practiced in Bhutan such as Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) and Performance-Based Budgeting (PBB) that can be leveraged to generate revenue and avoid or realign negative expenditures for biodiversity.

As the workshop, the BIOFIN FIRE platform was introduced, providing access to over 359 global biodiversity financing opportunities.

For more information, please contact:  Mr. Karma Jamtsho, Programme Communications and Advocacy Analyst, UNDP Bhutan | Email: karma.jamtsho1@unpd.org