Around the world, countries are failing to crack down on the drivers of biodiversity loss. None of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets for 2020 have been met, and according to WWF’s most recent Living Planet Index, an estimated 1 million species (500,000 animals and plants and 500,000 insects) are now threatened with extinction. To turn the tide on the emergency going forwards, adequate financing mechanisms will be required to boost investment in conservation and restoration. Promising trends towards sustainable finance, impact investment and responsible production will need to be scaled, and instruments to ensure that investment plans are evaluated for their potential risk to nature will need to be strengthened.
This paper examines how the conditions for mainstreaming biodiversity in the finance sector have changed with COVID-19, flagging shortcomings from the 2011-20 period to provide clear guidance on how financial players and policymakers can realise the targets and laid out by the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge in the decade ahead.
This White Paper is supported by ICRAF, IUCN, GIZ and BMU.
Watch the corresponding session that took place at the GLF Biodiversity Digital Conference: One World – One Health here: Financial incentives for a biodiversity-friendly future – is green recovery a catalyzer?
