Vancouver, 27 August 2023 (TDI): In a groundbreaking development, representatives from 185 nations have united to initiate the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) at the Seventh Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Vancouver, Canada.
This revolutionary fund is engineered to expedite and amplify investments in preserving and sustaining wildlife species and ecosystems presently endangered by natural disasters such as wildfires, floods, extreme climatic conditions, and human-induced factors like urban expansion.
The GBFF was officially endorsed and inaugurated with starting donations of CAD 200 million from Canada and GBP 10 million from the United Kingdom to halt and reverse the decline of biodiversity by 2030 and set nature on a path to recovery by 2050.
The fund is structured to gather and allocate funds from governmental, private, and philanthropic entities, with a primary focus on ensuring the sustainability of biodiversity and ecosystems.
Remarkably, a maximum of 20% of the fund’s resources will be dedicated to initiatives led by Indigenous communities to safeguard and preserve biodiversity.
Moreover, the fund will give precedence to Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries, slated to receive over a third of the total resources of the fund.
This monumental initiative follows eight months after the global community agreed on a landmark set of international biodiversity objectives, known as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and resolved to establish a new fund managed by the GEF to facilitate its execution.
Also Read: Canada to Host GEF Seventh Assembly 2023
The donations declared in Vancouver will expedite the initial implementation of the fund before COP16, demonstrating the global community’s commitment to transitioning from consensus to action.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a consortium of funds committed to tackling biodiversity depletion, climate change, pollution, and pressures on terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
Over the past 30 years, the GEF has granted over $23 billion and leveraged $129 billion in co-financing for more than 5,000 national and regional initiatives.
Rameen, a NUST Economics grad, is an aspiring researcher with a keen interest in policy and development. Beyond the world of economics, she is a fervent advocate for sustainable development and believes in the power of informed decision-making to drive positive change.
