Context
The global biodiversity crisis is at a tipping point, with one million species at risk of extinction and ecosystems declining at an unprecedented rate.
Biodiversity loss intersects profoundly with climate change and land degradation, creating cascading risks to human well-being and the planet’s stability. Nature underpins over half of the world’s GDP—an estimated $44 trillion—through ecosystem services such as clean water, fertile soils, and pollination.
Yet, unsustainable practices are eroding these foundations, threatening food security, livelihoods, and resilience to climate impacts. Urgent, transformative action is required to safeguard nature, which is not only central to the health of the planet but also indispensable to the prosperity and survival of humanity.
Our Role
The Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) is a global initiative designed to address the significant challenge of financing biodiversity conservation, now being implemented across 133 countries.
Launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2012, BIOFIN provides technical support to countries to develop and implement comprehensive strategies for biodiversity finance.
The Biodiversity Finance Gap — the difference between the financial resources needed to conserve and sustainably manage biodiversity and the funds currently available — is one of the most pressing challenges in global conservation.
Estimates suggest that closing this gap requires hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
BIOFIN directly addresses this challenge by equipping countries with the tools and methodologies to assess their biodiversity finance needs, identify inefficiencies in current spending, and mobilize additional resources. By leveraging innovative financial mechanisms, improving policy frameworks, and aligning public and private investments with biodiversity objectives, BIOFIN helps countries develop sustainable, context-specific finance solutions.
This approach not only addresses immediate funding shortfalls but also builds long-term financial resilience for biodiversity conservation efforts.
What we do
Our approach combines rigorous assessments with tailored solutions. Using a standardized methodology, BIOFIN supports countries in identifying and quantifying their biodiversity finance needs, analyzing existing expenditures, and identifying opportunities to mobilize additional resources. This process ensures that biodiversity conservation is integrated into national planning, economic decision-making, and fiscal frameworks, fostering long-term sustainability.
The BIOFIN methodology is now being implemented across 133 countries, across diverse ecological, social, and economic contexts. Our work spans a wide range of activities, from complex fiscal instruments like green bonds to promoting innovative mechanisms such as payments for ecosystem services, and biodiversity offsets.
By engaging a diverse set of stakeholders, including governments, financial institutions, businesses, and communities, BIOFIN ensures that biodiversity finance strategies are inclusive, context-specific, and impactful.
Since the inception of BIOFIN in 2012, the national biodiversity finance plans (BFPs) have matured into a globally recognized vehicle to mobilize and realign finance flows for nature. Based on lessons learned in the first 41 countries to implement the BIOFIN methodology, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) pledged support to design and implement BFPs in more than 90 additional countries pursuant to the ambitious 2030 goals of the GBF.
The Nature Pledge
A key aspect of our work is aligning national and global commitments to biodiversity. In support of the UNDP Nature Pledge, BIOFIN actively contributes to efforts aimed at reversing biodiversity loss and restoring ecosystems. The Nature Pledge represents a global commitment to achieve the targets set out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, emphasizing urgent and scaled-up action to protect nature. BIOFIN supports countries in translating these global commitments into practical, financeable strategies grounded in local realities, ensuring tangible progress toward national biodiversity objectives.
Our technical framework is designed to address complex challenges. It includes tools for biodiversity expenditure reviews, finance needs assessments, and the design of finance solutions. These tools are complemented by knowledge-sharing platforms, capacity-building workshops, and partnerships that foster innovation and collaboration. By integrating biodiversity considerations into public and private financial systems, BIOFIN is helping to reframe the relationship between economic development and environmental conservation as one of mutual reinforcement.
As the global community faces unprecedented biodiversity loss, BIOFIN’s mission remains clear: to ensure that countries have the financial tools and strategies necessary to safeguard their natural capital. Through continued collaboration and innovation, we strive to build a future where biodiversity is valued and protected for the benefit of all.