Presentation
This Issue Brief provides a conceptual framework for assessing multilateral biodiversity funds and analyzes their efficiency in addressing dynamic needs. It explores their functions and principles, considering current challenges and opportunities in the biodiversity finance landscape. It argues for a strategic positioning of multilateral biodiversity funding that not only supports immediate needs but also ensures transformative change and sustainable financial flows for long-term biodiversity and development goals, while acknowledging that some trade-offs or tensions will be crucial to solve.
Key Messages
- Multilateral funds, though a small part of overall biodiversity finance, are vital for underfunded projects in developing countries and supporting CBD obligations. In recent years, they increasingly supported the alignment of economies with nature-positive policies.
- Mobilizing resources is essential, and other key functions like strengthening capacities for policy coherence, capacity building, and partnerships could be further enhanced. Addressing these ensures greater financial leverage, a specific role for multilateral funds, and supports the implementation of the GBF.
- To meet expectations from all actors, multilateral funds should be governed by principles of equity, fairness and justice, effectiveness and efficiency, inclusive governance, and transparency, ensuring fair resource allocation and accessibility to key stakeholders.
- Funds should evolve to better meet the needs of developing countries. This involves increasing national or subnational ownership of biodiversity initiatives by building capacity for accessing funds and for project implementation and ensuring that funding mechanisms are responsive to local contexts. This will help integrating biodiversity with development strategies, amplifying funding impact and outcomes.
- This Issue Brief calls for further analysis and reform. These insights should inform upcoming negotiations at COP16 and the next GEF replenishment cycle. The broader discussions on mobilizing biodiversity finance for developing countries should examine these proposed functions and principles in relation to those of key actors in biodiversity finance. Such cross-sector collaboration would amplify the potential of multilateral funds.
