Photo credit: GYBN
Young people are not part of the future of environmental governance; they are shaping it today. This is why youth empowerment is embedded in the Global Environment Facility’s work.
As part of the financial mechanism of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the GEF is supporting countries as they review and update their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) – the building blocks to putting the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework into action. For these action plans to really be effective and future-focused, youth voices and priorities must be part of the process.
Through enabling activities, the GEF is providing countries with the financial support they need to develop or revise their NBSAPs and prepare their 7th National Reports. But beyond the technical work, what matters most is how these processes take place, and the GEF is working to ensure they follow a whole-of-society approach, where youth, women, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities are fully involved in shaping biodiversity policy.
Enabling activities are country-led projects supported by the GEF that help governments meet their environmental commitments. These activities give countries access to financial and technical support to create or update their biodiversity strategies, action plans, and progress reports.
Through an umbrella program, the GEF has made this process more flexible and aligned with biodiversity convention guidance. This means countries can better integrate the new global biodiversity targets and adapt their NBSAPs to local priorities and realities.
But supporting policy and planning processes is only one part of the puzzle. For national strategies to deliver meaningful impact, they must be built on inclusive dialogue and shared ownership. And that means creating space for youth.
Photo credit: GYBN Nigeria
Youth as partners in biodiversity governance
Under its whole-of-society approach, the GEF is committed to ensuring that national biodiversity planning includes the voices, experiences, and leadership of all sectors of society, especially young people.
Young people bring energy, creativity, and deep knowledge of local challenges. They are powerful conveners, bridging science, policy, and grassroots action. When youth are meaningfully involved, biodiversity strategies become more responsive, equitable, and grounded in real-life challenges.
And this isn’t just theory, we have seen it in action.
Cameroon
Earlier this year, Adamou Ndam, Chair of the Cameroon Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN Cameroon), participated in the GEF Expanded Constituency Workshop for Central Africa in Equatorial Guinea. There, he connected with Cameroon’s CBD National Focal Point, a key moment that helped him gain access to the country’s NBSAP consultation process.
As a result, Adamou was able to bring youth-led priorities into national biodiversity planning. He emphasized the importance of peace and conflict sensitivity in conservation work, the centrality of gender equality, and the integration of Indigenous and scientific knowledge as complementary foundations for biodiversity policy.
His engagement didn’t stop there. He was later invited to a national capacity-building workshop organized by the environment ministry, a space that brought together media, civil society, youth, women’s groups, and faith leaders to strengthen communication on biodiversity and integrate biodiversity considerations across different sectors and communities.
“My involvement in the NBSAP review gave me knowledge, visibility, and leadership tools to mobilize more youth around biodiversity,” Ndam said. “We are now planning a national youth summit to empower young leaders to co-create conservation solutions rooted in our country’s priorities.”
Nigeria
In Nigeria, youth engagement around the NBSAP process has also gained strong momentum, supported by the GEF Small Grants Program (SGP), which provides direct funding to civil society and community-based organizations.
With this support, the GYBN Nigeria led a national campaign to bring young people into biodiversity policy conversations. They kicked things off with a youth survey on implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework and followed up with a national consultation to inform Nigeria’s NBSAP review.
The result? A clearer picture of young people’s priorities, challenges, and ideas, and the creation of a National Youth Engagement Strategy on biodiversity, now serving as a roadmap to turn youth insights into concrete projects and long-term policy involvement.
As Olusegun Michael Ogundele, GYBN Nigeria Coordinator, puts it: “Implementation of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework must see the transformation of youth, women, and Indigenous Peoples from stakeholders to rights-holders — fully integrated into NBSAP implementation initiatives.”
These examples show what’s possible when countries open space for youth leadership. But we know that meaningful youth engagement doesn’t happen automatically. It requires intention, trust, resources, and long-term investment in leadership and capacity.
At the GEF, we are committed to walking that path with our partners, by supporting youth-engagement through enabling activities, SGP grants, and the GEF family of funds’ broader programming. Our goal is not to speak for young people, but to support and amplify their voices, respond to their priorities, and work with them as full partners in shaping the future of biodiversity policy.
