Abstract
Global biodiversity finance needs are on the order of $150 to $440 billion per year. The Biodiversity Finance Initiative—BIOFIN (www.biodiversityfinance.net)—is a global partnership addressing the biodiversity finance challenge in a comprehensive manner in order to identify and implement biodiversity-centered sustainable economic development solutions. BIOFIN provides an innovative accounting and finance approach, enabling countries to measure their current biodiversity expenditures, assess their financial needs and identify the most suitable finance solutions to achieve their stated national biodiversity targets and green, bio-based, sustainable economic development goals. The BIOFIN approach currently is piloted in 31 countries worldwide, including ten of the 17 most biodiverse countries in the world BIOFIN works primarily in support of strengthening the national biodiversity finance framework and closing the national finance gap for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. This chapter reviews the BIOFIN approach, including motivations and the business case for biodiversity investment, our theory of change, highlights some early country results, and the way forward for mainstreaming biodiversity into national policy and decision making and private sector engagement toward sustainable economic development goals.
This chapter is derived from the following report: UNDP (2016). The 2016 BIOFIN Workbook: Mobilising resources for biodiversity sustainable development. The Biodiversity Finance Initiative. United Nations Development Programme: New York. http://www.biodiversityfinance.net.
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- 1.
For a technical definition of biodiversity see Article 2 of the Convention on Biological Diversity: www.cbd.int/convention/articles/default.shtml?a=cbd-02.
- 2.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals.
- 3.
In 2015 The United Nations announced new 17 Sustainable Development Goals with 169 associated targets which are integrated and indivisible. The targets will guide the decisions taken over the next 15 years.
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FAO (2014).
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FAO (2016).
- 6.
- 7.
Costanza et al. (2014).
- 8.
World Bank national accounts data. Available from: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD.
- 9.
Potts et al. (2016).
- 10.
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) (2010).
- 11.
World Health Organization (WHO) (2010).
- 12.
Based on data in The Changing Wealth of Nations: Measuring Sustainable Development in the New Millennium, World Bank (2011) and includes the estimated value (in 2005) of Crop Lands, Pasture Lands, Forests/ Timber, Forests/Nontimber and Protected Areas in the 152 countries where the data was available. See page 47 Table 2A.2 for more information. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/2252/588470PUB0Weal101public10BOX353816B.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.
- 13.
Russi et al. (2013).
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Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005).
- 15.
IUCN Red List Committee (2013).
- 16.
Ceballos et al. (2015).
- 17.
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (2014).
- 18.
CBD (2010).
- 19.
UNFCCC (2005).
- 20.
Natural Capital Coalition (https://naturalcapitalcoalition.org/), World Business Council on Sustainable Development. http://www.wbcsd.org/, UN System for Environmental-Economic Accounting (https://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/seea.asp), The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project: https://www.accountingforsustainability.org/en/index.html, Ellen Macarthur Foundation: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/, among others.
- 21.
Parker et al. (2012).
- 22.
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (2012).
- 23.
World Bank (2015).
- 24.
World Bank (2014).
- 25.
Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Finance (2015).
- 26.
Mead (2001).
- 27.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2015).
- 28.
Addis Ababa Action Agenda: http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AAAA_Outcome.pdf.
- 29.
Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Finance (2015).
- 30.
Adapted from Clark (2007).
- 31.
Conservation Finance. From Niche to Mainstream: The Building of an Institutional Asset Class. Credit Suisse Group AG and McKinsey Center for Business and Environment (2016).
- 32.
Convention on Biological Diversity National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan: https://www.cbd.int/nbsap/.
- 33.
Mittermeier et al. (1997).
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BIOFIN: www.biodiversityfinance.net.
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UNDP-Global Environment Facility (GEF), and non-government organizations such as World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, Wildlife Conservation Society, The Nature Conservancy and Birdlife International.
- 36.
United Nations (2016).
- 37.
World Bank Group (2016).
- 38.
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) (2016).
- 39.
- 40.
- 41.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions to the 2016 Workbook from which this chapter was derived: Lucia Motaung, Blerina Gjeka, Oscar Huertas, Csoban Somodi, Semiray Emeksiz, Georgina Wilde, Alessandra Alfieri, Herve Barois, Bertrand Rassool, Mariana Bellot, Juan Bester, A. Damodaran, Gail Hurley, Helen Ding, Devika Iyer, Bruno Mweemba, Amath Pathe Sene, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, Ainur Shalakhanova, Anton Steurer, Monika Wozowczyk, Guillermo Zuniga, Jamie Ervin, Usman Iftikhar, Nik Sekhran, Yves de Soye, Caroline Petersen, Adriana Dinu, Midori Paxton, James Maiden, and Ray Victurine. In addition, we would like to thank our partners for their support: The European Union, the Governments of Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Flanders. The governments, partners, and consultants from the 30 BIOFIN countries also contributed ideas and insights into this approach. All errors remain the responsibility of the authors.
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Arlaud, M. et al. (2018). The Biodiversity Finance Initiative: An Approach to Identify and Implement Biodiversity-Centered Finance Solutions for Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho, W., Pociovălișteanu, D., Borges de Brito, P., Borges de Lima, I. (eds) Towards a Sustainable Bioeconomy: Principles, Challenges and Perspectives. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73028-8_5
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