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Since 2024, the GEF’s Global Biodiversity Framework Fund has moved from launch to full-speed operation, with seven projects already reviewed, approved, and funded, and dozens more in the pipeline. GBFF In Focus is a series showcasing how the new biodiversity fund is changing the game for how countries can invest in nature, starting with seven projects in Brazil, DRC, Gabon, Mexico, Peru, and a trinational project in the Congo Basin. These projects moved from concept approval to implementation in just six months, and stand out for their inclusive, integrated approach to building a more nature-positive future.
There is growing recognition that healthy ecosystems and strong economies are deeply interconnected. In Peru, efforts within the Northern Tranversal Economic Corridor (CETN) aim to align economic growth with environmental sustainability and community well-being. In 2023, the Peruvian Government reaffirmed the corridor’s priority status for transport and economic development. Increased agricultural output and the flow of goods have also brought unsustainable resource use, shifting land use, and expanding transport infrastructure. The results: fragmented habitats and degraded ecosystem services.
If left unaddressed, these pressures could jeopardize the long-term benefits of development and further harm ecosystems and communities, particularly Indigenous Peoples. To tackle these challenges, a newly approved GEF Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) project, Delivering Target 3 at the Regional Scale in Peru, adopts an ecosystem approach to managing the corridor.
The project supports Peru’s commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, especially Target 3, and contributes directly to the National Biodiversity Strategy. It aims to consolidate an ecological-economic corridor where biodiversity is conserved, ecosystem services are sustained, and local communities thrive. Key goals include improving governance, strengthening institutional frameworks, enabling sustainable financing for conservation, and supporting nature-based businesses.
“Achieving Target 3 - conserving 30 percent of the planet - of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework demands action on the ground, where people and nature are deeply interconnected,” said Kurt Holle, Peru Country Director of WWF. “This project marks a major step forward for Peru, demonstrating that large-scale conservation can be inclusive and effective when it centers the leadership of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in protecting some of the planet’s most vital ecosystems.”
Led by MINAM, Peru’s Ministry of the Environment, the project is implemented in partnership with Profonanpe, co-executing agency, and with WWF.
A corridor of global importance
Stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Peruvian northern Amazon, the CETN spans six provinces - Piura, Lambayeque, Cajamarca, San Martin, Amazonas, and Loreto - and covers approximately 21 million hectares. This vast region contains globally important ecosystems, including 147 declared protected and conserved areas, 17 newly proposed protected and conserved areas, and the lands of 22 Indigenous Peoples groups.
It hosts biodiversity hotspots such as the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena and Tropical Andes, part of the Amazon Biome. These areas are among the most biologically diverse on Earth, home to vulnerable and endangered species like the yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda), mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), white-winged guan (Penelope albipennis), and whale shark (Rhincodon typus), amongst others.
The project will strengthen the management of 24 terrestrial protected areas covering 475,160 hectares and one marine protected area spanning 115,675 hectares. It will also support the establishment of four new terrestrial protected areas (67,579 hectares), contribute to restoration initiatives across 1,000 hectares, and promote the recognition of Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures across 3,827,328 hectares. In total, the project will directly benefit 13,370 people, 6,465 of whom are women.
Centering Indigenous Peoples and local communities
Spanning Peru’s northern coastal and marine zones, Andean highlands, and northern Amazon forest the project engages a diverse range of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs). These include fishing communities along the coast, Andean communities in the highlands, and Amazonian communities connected to their territories. A significant number of these communities are Indigenous Peoples who maintain strong cultural and spiritual ties to their ancestral lands.
Within the project area, there are 301 Indigenous Peoples communities—297 in the Amazon and four in the Andes—representing 10 distinct Indigenous Peoples groups: Qechua, Awajun, Kapanawa, Shawi, Kichwa, Kukama Kukamiria, Urarina, Achuar, Jíbaro, and Kandozi. These communities steward territories of high socio-cultural and ecological value, play a crucial role in the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources.
During the preparation of the project proposal, Indigenous and local organizations participated in a collaborative, inclusive process that informed the project’s priorities. Regional and territorial organizations - such as CODEPISAM, FEPIQUECHA, and CEPKA in San Martín; FECONARIN and ORPIAN-P in Amazonas; and the ECA Chayu Nain in Amazonas – helped coordinate participation and ensure that their communities were well represented
Four participatory workshops allowed Indigenous leaders to contribute directly to shaping the project’s design. These dialogues helped ensure that the proposed interventions align with the priorities of Indigenous communities, particularly in areas of governance strengthening, sustainable territorial management, bio-business development, and co-management of conservation areas.
IPLCs will play a central role in project implementation. Their participation will be embedded in both strategic and operational decision-making processes. Given the diversity of Indigenous groups across six departments, the project proposes a flexible and inclusive mechanism for participation. Rather than relying on a single representative, IPLCs’ involvement will be integrated into governance platforms such as the Project Technical Committee, featuring rotating or issue-specific representation to capture the diversity of voices, perspectives, and needs.
In the early stages of implementation, the project will also explore establishing a Consultative Committee composed of Indigenous Peoples and local community representatives. This committee would serve as a formal space for continuous dialogue, feedback, and participation in key project decisions, thereby enhancing the legitimacy, relevance, and sustainability of project outcomes.
The full support of MINAM to the Global Biodiversity Framework
"Peru reaffirms its commitment to the ambitious implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, through concrete actions that integrate development and conservation. The Northern Transversal Economic Corridor project is a national priority—not only because of the natural and cultural richness it contains, but also as a space where we demonstrate that economic growth can be compatible with sustainability,” said Raquel Soto, Vice Minister of Strategic Development of Natural Resources (MINAM).
“With the support of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, this project will strengthen our network of conservation areas, conservation modalities, and restored landscapes, directly contributing to the achievement of Targets 2 and 3. It is an opportunity to consolidate territorial governance, mobilize financing, and improve the quality of life of our indigenous communities and local populations, through a model that brings together all territorial stakeholders."
