Context: The first council meeting of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) recently took place in Washington DC, United States.

• Countries pledging donations to the new GBFF at its first Council gathering included Canada, Germany, Japan, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Key highlights of the first council meeting of GBBF

• It formed rules for its implementation, with delegates agreeing to invest $1.1 billion in actions on biodiversity, climate change, nature renewal, and pollution control.

• $203 million was endorsed for 21 climate change adaptation projects funded by the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), and Spain pledged 10 million Euros to GBFF, joining contributions from Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan.

• The LDCF aims to support Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in becoming more resilient through National Adaptation Programs of Action (NAPAs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and addressing adaptation in vulnerable sectors like agriculture and water management.

• The SCCF, created at COP 2001 of the UNFCCC, helps vulnerable nations mitigate climate change impacts.

• The GBFF approved the Resource Allocation Policy and Project Cycle Policy for donor funds allocation and decided that 20% of its resources would support indigenous-led initiatives for biodiversity conservation.

• The GEF Council, which customarily meets twice a year, has planned to meet three times in 2024 to further its goals.

Biodiversity loss as a global crisis

• The number of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and plants on Earth is droping dangerously fast. 

• Over 1 million species face extinction in the coming years. This extreme loss of plants and wildlife is happening 1000 times faster than normal due to human activities like farming, fishing, mining, logging, and polluting that destroy natural habitats. 

• Protecting diverse ecosystems and species matters for healthy, livable communities. Scientists warn that declining biodiversity puts food, health and economic security at risk globally.

About GBFF

• The GBFF's mission is to mobilize investments for biodiversity conservation, scaling up financing to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), ratified at the 7th GEF Assembly in Vancouver, Canada, in 2023.

• Its governance includes members from various regions, using a consensus approach for decision-making, aiming to secure $20B by 2025 and $30B by 2030 for developing nations, with over a third of the fund’s assets dedicated to SIDS and LDCs.

• The World Bank acts as the Trustee, with the fund addressing threats like wildfires and urban expansion and highlighting the need for $200 billion a year until 2030 for biodiversity protection.

Way ahead of Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF)

• The Global Biodiversity Fund was created in 2022 to raise billions in donations over the next decade to protect habitats and species under threat across the planet. Now that rules are in place for how the money will be used, the fund leaders must focus on building support and increasing contributions from more countries.

• They also plan to give technical help to nations applying for grants to carry out strong conservation plans that are eligible for funding approval. Experienced aid groups will organize local communities and monitor the ongoing success of funded projects. 

• Reports on whether all these efforts are working will be created regularly to keep countries updated on progress achieving key nature protection goals.