Scaling funding to tackle biodiversity loss will be one of the top priorities of next week’s Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Council meeting, as discussions on the newly established Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) are set to take centre stage.
The GEF governing body will hold this year’s inaugural meeting over Feb. 5-9 in Washington, DC, marking the first ever Council gathering for the GBFF, launched at the GEF Assembly in Vancouver in Aug. 2023 to ramp up investments in species and ecosystems conservation and underpin the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) implementation.
The GEF Council will decide on the fund allocation policy and a simplified process for review and approval of the projects, the GEF director of strategy and operations, Claude Gascon, told Carbon Pulse.
While the meeting will primarily focus on fund’s governance, environmental organisations are calling on developed countries to step up and support the instrument with ambitious contributions.
“A larger concern that should be a top priority for wealthy nations is how they will meet their commitment to delivering at least $20 billion per year in nature finance to developing countries by 2025, some of which will be steered to the new Global Biodiversity Framework Fund,” the director of Campaign for Nature, Brian O’Donnell, told Carbon Pulse.
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, GEF CEO and chairperson, dubbed last year’s Assembly “a moment that will be remembered far into the future”, though at this time only Canada, Germany, Japan, and the UK have announced initial contributions, totalling $204 million.
“To date, there has not been a clear strategy to ensure that this target is met,” O’Donnell said. “The $20 bln by 2025 target was an essential component of the historic Global Biodiversity Framework agreed to at COP15. The framework requires adequate finance to be achieved, and the deadline is quickly approaching.”
In August, Campaign for Nature joined other five organisations, including WWF and Conservation International, to publish an open letter ahead of the GEF Assembly in Vancouver urging donor countries to kickstart the fund’s capitalisation.
GBF FUND “GEARING UP”
At least 20% of funds from the GBFF will support Indigenous-led initiatives to protect biodiversity, while 36% of the resources should support the most vulnerable communities, least developed countries, and small island developing countries.
“It is critical that funding reaches the frontline defenders of nature directly and rapidly,” O’Donnell said.
The GEF stated that the fund is “gearing up for a high-stakes year where countries reeling from record heat and disasters will meet for Conferences of the Parties on biodiversity”, which will take place in Colombia from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1.
As much as 25% of the fund will be delivered through international financial institutions. According to the organisation, the fund’s first work programme is expected in late 2024.
“As we work to continue to increase our effectiveness, we expect to approve the first projects for this fund before the end of the year,” GEF’s Gascon said.
NEW PLEDGES
During the meeting in Washington, DC, the GEF Council will discuss a $916-mln spending package on efforts to bolster biodiversity, ocean health, climate change adaptation, and pollution control. Biodiversity projects account for $420.7 mln.
“The projects will benefit 21 of the 23 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets,” Gascon said.
If authorised, it will be the second largest allocation in GEF history after a record $1.4 bln spending was approved in June 2023 to finance activities across 136 countries, ranging from ecosystem restoration projects in the Amazon to biodiversity mapping support to Indigenous Peoples in Brazil.
The new pledges are expected to generate as much as $7.53 bln in co-financing, spanning 77 countries worldwide, the organisation estimated.
“If there is one lesson from 2023, it is that we have no time to lose,” said Rodriguez in a statement.
“The GEF is working to quickly and efficiently deploy all resources that donors have entrusted to us for the 2022-2026 period so that we can generate maximum benefits for our recipient countries and for the planet.”
ACCELERATING HIGH SEAS TREATY RATIFICATION
Next week’s meeting will also seek to expedite the implementation of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions (BBNJ) agreement, widely known as the High Seas Treaty, which was signed in September last year and included the GEF in its financial structure.
The treaty will enter into force when at least 60 countries will have ratified it. So far only Palau is registered on a UN website as having ratified, though the Chilean cabinet also approved BBNJ ratification papers last month.
“Council members will review initial guidelines for the enabling activities and ratification support projects,” the GEF said.
Since nature has moved up the GEF agenda, the world’s largest environmental donor has played a critical role in a number of initiatives aimed at steering biodiversity policies and markets at a national and international level.
It assists governments in developing their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), which enable countries to meet their GBF targets through forming specific biodiversity policies.
It also participates in the joint initiative led by the UK and France to create an international biodiversity credit framework, set to be presented at the COP16 UN biodiversity summit in Colombia.
“Biodiversity is essential to sustainability and supports all life on Earth,” GEF’s Gascon concluded. “Countries around the world committed to ending biodiversity loss and put nature on a recovery path this decade. This decision is reflected in the GEF Council meeting priorities.”
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
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