The GEF Council decision taken during a meeting in Brazil clears the way for the launch of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund at the seventh GEF Assembly, to take place in Vancouver, Canada, in August.
“The creation of this biodiversity fund is a game-changer for countries’ ability to protect, restore and ensure the sustainable use of nature,” said Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, GEF CEO and Chairperson as well as former Environment and Energy Minister of Costa Rica.
“I am thrilled to see this rapid progress just six months after the historic agreement for biodiversity reached in Montreal. I thank the GEF Council for its vision and commitment, which we will continue to build on at the GEF Assembly and beyond.”
“This is a tremendous result for the planet and for our children and grandchildren, whose future depends on us reversing the course of environmental damage and also supporting each other along the way,” said Tom Bui, GEF Council Member from Canada and Co-Chair of the Brasilia meetings.
“This agreement extends the positive momentum in international environmental diplomacy we saw in Montreal six months ago, and sets us up for a successful launch of the fund in Vancouver.”
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was a breakthrough deal reached in December 2022 during the Convention on Biological Diversity COP-15 summit in Montreal. It set new goals on the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems by 2030.
To implement the agreement, countries will need to translate the plan into national targets and strategies, integrate biodiversity across their decision-making, and take concrete action to deliver results.
This requires financing for budget-stressed developing countries, many of which are some of the most highly biodiverse in the world.
That direct support will be provided through the new fund, which will be set up to draw in capital from governments, the private sector and philanthropic organisations.
David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, described the GEF Council support as “a landmark event” that will breathe life into the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its transformative goals.
“Achieving the goals and targets of the Framework is hugely ambitious. But it is also necessary. It’s necessary to maintain the web of life on planet earth. It’s also an essential part of climate action. And it’s a fundamental prerequisite to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” Cooper said.
“The new fund will provide an opportunity to receive funding from all sources and to quickly disburse them through streamlined procedures, and with enhanced access for indigenous people and local communities.”
The GEF, which is the financial mechanism for the Convention on Biological Diversity, has already provided early action grants to support national planning around the new agreement’s goals and targets.
In addition to housing the new Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, it will continue to support biodiversity initiatives through the projects and programmes it supports through its other trust funds.
Biodiversity is the largest component of the GEF-8 funding cycle, which runs from 2022 to 2026.
Earlier in the week, the GEF Council approved a record work programme providing $1.4 billion in direct support for developing countries’ efforts to protect and ensure the sustainable use of biodiversity in line with commitments made in Montreal.
The GEF Assembly, a once-every-four-year gathering of the full partnership, will take place on August 22-26. It is set to include environment and finance ministers from around the world, in addition to leaders from civil society, science, the private sector, and local communities.
The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund is set to be launched during this gathering, as a reflection of the broad, whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach needed to ensure this effort is a success.
The GEF is already a financial mechanism to the Convention on Biological Diversity, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and Minamata Convention on Mercury.
–IANS