Global Biodiversity Framework Fund

In 2021, over 100 national governments pledged support towards establishing a Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

• This dedicated financing mechanism aims to mobilize $100 billion annually to assist developing countries in implementing targets that conserve ecosystems, promote sustainable use of nature, and ensure equitable sharing of biodiversity benefits.
• As global ecosystems reach dangerous tipping points, the GBFF hopes to catalyze transformative policy and market shifts protecting humanity’s natural assets.

The Need for Global Collective Biodiversity Action

Ongoing degradation of the world’s soils, forests, grasslands, wetlands and oceans has resulted in catastrophic declines in species populations and ecosystem integrity over recent decades:

• 68%: Decline in global wildlife abundance since 1970 as habitats shrink
• Up to 1 million: Species threatened with extinction in coming decades at current trajectory
• 75%: Share of Earth’s ice-free land surface significantly altered from native ecosystem states
• $4.3 trillion+: Estimated economic damage annually from ecosystem service losses like pollination, water security, soil health, disaster resilience and carbon sequestration

Urgent collective action emerges necessary to halt and reverse current alarming biodiversity loss trends.

• The Global Biodiversity Framework under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity proposes quantitative targets for conserving ecosystems through 2030 alongside just means for equitably sharing benefits of genetic resources.
• Successfully implementing this global framework necessitates adequate, accessible financing particularly for biodiverse developing countries who steward invaluable natural assets.

Introducing the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund

The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund constitutes the primary financing mechanism under the post-2020 biodiversity agenda for assisting national implementation efforts. Key elements include:

Mission and Scope

• Support developing countries’ policy/institutional reform, capacity building and community-led conservation needed to reach Framework targets
• Pursue innovative finance with blended capital structures to catalyze public, private and philanthropic resources

Governance

• Headquartered in Montreal under CBD Secretariat guidance on investment plans and impact evaluation
• Expert advisory board provides technical inputs spanning conservation science, policy, and sustainable economics
• Collaborates with organizations like the Global Environment Facility that has financed $6.5 billion in biodiversity programs historically

Resource Mobilization Structure

• Seeks $100 billion annual capital flows from multiple public, private and philanthropic sources using various instruments – grants, loans, bonds, equity
• Aims to leverage initial $10 billion through layered risk-return models crowding in investments
• Links with Central Banks, Regulators and Finance Ministries to align policies, taxonomies and lending towards biodiversity-positive outcomes

This diversified capital base allows the GBFF to serve the unique needs of beneficiaries through varied financial instruments – from direct technical assistance grants to credit guarantees, debt-for-nature swaps and investments in sustainable enterprises that create livelihoods protecting ecosystems like forests.

GBFF Capital Deployment Blueprint Across Financial Instruments

This spectrum of capital types allows aligning support to readiness levels across grantees while mobilizing commercial financing for nature-positive outcomes.

Framework Fund in Action

The GBFF has initiated work across multiple regions demonstrating potential to scale financing for communities sustaining biodiverse habitats:

The Arctic Seed Vault Vulnerability Assessment

• Deploying climate adaptation grants and technical expertise to strengthen infrastructure resilience protecting crop biodiversity as permafrost melts

Mesoamerican Reef Blue Bond

• Structuring $2 billion sustainable debt instrument for marine ecosystem restoration linking capital markets to ocean conservation

Mangrove Coastal Defense Bond

• Issuing parametric catastrophe bonds that release funds for mangrove restoration when storms occur, reducing future disaster costs

Great Plains Grasslands Carbon Credit Aggregator

• Providing project development grants for smallholder farmers adopting regenerative grazing practices to enhance soil carbon sequestration while conserving native prairie biodiversity

Such deals exemplify the GBFF’s potential to mainstream biodiversity considerations across public and private finance using innovative designs adapted to community contexts.

The Road Ahead

As more governments and corporations make commitments towards reversing nature loss this decade, access to financing remains imperative for translating targets into on-ground impact.

• While achieving the immense $100 billion annual capital flows ambition requires further structured efforts, the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund offers an important mechanism for aggregating and deploying resources where ecologically and socially most impactful.
• The creative leverage of public, philanthropic and market capital in service of sustainability opens possibilities for prospering in balance with nature.