2.3.5 Development partners: finding synergies
A country may have a variety of active programmes financed by development partners, from natural capital accounting to the implementation of finance solutions such as payments for ecosystem services. Particularly relevant programmes/activities to investigate include those related to national development planning, conservation finance (e.g. UNDP-GEF projects, WWF, WCS, TNC, CI), climate finance (e.g. REDD+) economic valuation, Targeted Scenario Analysis and Natural Capital Accounting (e.g. TEEB, WAVES, ValuES), and organizations that collect and host large amounts of data (e.g. OECD, UN Statistics Division). Other initiatives to link up with are those focusing on public finance reform (World Bank, IMF, UNDP) and private finance (UNEP-FI and CPIC).
The BIOFIN team must build synergies and formulate joint actions or even establish joint programming and implementation structures. In Kyrgyzstan, BIOFIN works with the UN Poverty and Environment Initiative to align biodiversity and climate finance work. BIOFIN in Namibia was implemented directly by GIZ. Development partners, including bilateral donors, multilateral organizations and conservation NGOs, are among the most influential actors in conservation. They can provide significant financing for biodiversity in developing countries.
Moreover, BIOFIN is expected to play a lead coordination and technical role on biodiversity finance in the country. After mapping the existing initiatives, it may be necessary to organize periodic coordination meetings (or other coordination infrastructure) and involve all interested development partners in the finance plan formulation and implementation.
How to involve development partners?
| Policy and Institutional Review | Gather data on biodiversity-related official development assistance (ODA) and reports and projects working on biodiversity finance. |
| Biodiversity Expenditure Review | Request data on biodiversity expenditures. |
| Financial Needs Assessment | Request plans for future programming/investments. |
| Biodiversity Finance Plan | As primary investors in conservation, must be closely involved in the design of the finance plan, but could lead/finance specific finance solutions if requested. |
| Finance Solutions Implementation | Encourage development partners to lead one or more finance solutions. |
Key questions to screen related initiatives
What has been their role in the NBSAP process?
What activities are undertaken (past, present & future) on biodiversity finance/finance solutions?
Which reports produced may contain useful information for the BIOFIN studies?
Who should be invited to the inception workshop/other technical workshops?
Which organizations are suitable partners for policy and advocacy work?
Biodiversity Finance Solution
Philanthropy
Philanthropy means ‘love for humanity,’ but in this context it refers to donations by private individuals for specific development goals, often through foundations that function as endowment funds (also leveraging further funds). Global philanthropy flows to developing countries exceeded US$60 billion in 2014. The Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation and MAVA Foundation are two examples.
Example: Tompkins Conservation, through various land trusts and in cooperation with national governments and other philanthropists, helped purchase millions of hectares of land in Chile and Argentina to gazette, expand, restore and manage 11 protected areas (including Pumalin National Park and Ibera National Park).9
