To address the funding gap in the country’s effort in biodiversity conservation, four innovative financing solutions under the UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative, BIOFIN, are currently being implemented. To enhance the capacity of officials in innovative financing solutions, a one-day capacity-building workshop was held to equip them with the necessary tools and knowledge.
The four financing solutions are being implemented by the finance ministry, tourism department and Department of Forests and Park Services.
These solutions include increasing revenue from ecotourism fees in parks and conservation areas and implementing the national crop and livestock insurance scheme among others.
“Rather than spending money with the hope of improving biodiversity conditions, you can set a biodiversity target and figure out the action that it takes to improve those conditions. The second financial solution takes it to the local level. Localising the biodiversity finance solutions and their actions allows us to be more efficient and effective at improving biodiversity conditions,” said Andrew Seidl, a senior technical advisor of UNDP BIOFIN.
According to the UNDP, currently, nearly USD 150bn is spent on biodiversity globally each year.
However, this amount falls significantly short of the estimated USD 824bn required to protect and restore nature.
To bridge this gap, the UNDP BIOFIN was developed to enhance and create financial strategies to support biodiversity conservation.
“At the global level, we estimate there is a USD 700bn investment gap per year. The evidence that we have indicates that we have been able to bridge about 400-USD 500 M through finance solutions that were implemented,” said Andrew Seidl, a senior technical advisor of UNDP BIOFIN.
The four biodiversity finance solutions were launched last year.
Deki Lhazom
Edited by Sonam Pem
