The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) has approved $2.7 million for project preparation grants and set aside $91.2 million for 18 new projects in 17 countries, including nine Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The resources are expected to leverage $319.3 million in co-financing.
The grants will fund the development of projects on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) in Bolivia, Botswana, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Iraq, Lao PDR, Madagascar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Tanzania.
The new projects to be developed cover a broad range of initiatives to support the KMGBF targets. In Colombia, a project will be dedicated to the conservation, sustainable use, and restoration of mangroves on the Pacific coast of Colombia with a focus on empowering Afro-Colombian Communities that manage 90% of these mangroves through collective land tenure. In India, the CONSERVE project aims to strengthen the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan implementation through integrated spatial planning, community co-management approaches, and innovative financing instruments. The project in Botswana is to accelerate progress on KMGBF targets through biodiversity mainstreaming in the financial sector.
Among the projects to be developed in LDCs and SIDS, the GBFF is to support the long-term sustainability of Locally Managed Marine Areas and targeted conservation actions in protected areas covering Key Biodiversity Areas in Madagascar. Another project is to contribute to empowering Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) of Papua New Guinea for the conservation and sustainable use of critical ecosystems spanning some 700,000 hectares.
With the new round, the GBFF has approved or set aside in 2024 a total of $202 million for 40 projects in 41 countries. To date, 36% of the total resources have been programed for LDCs and SIDS; 31% to support actions by IPLCs for the conservation, sustainable use, restoration, and management of biodiversity; and 20% have been programed through International Financial Institutions that are GEF agencies.
“The GBFF complements the substantial GEF Trust Fund investments in biodiversity and is a quick and effective way for supporting our efforts towards the Global Biodiversity Framework targets set for the next six years,” GEF CEO and Chairperson Carlos Manuel Rodríguez said during the 3rd GBFF Council meeting. “These projects, in combination with other GEF projects, are crucial to accelerate the achievement of vital international biodiversity goals meant to halt and reverse nature loss.”
The new preparation grants include projects involving eight GEF implementing agencies: the Development Bank of South Africa, the Development Bank of Latin America-CAF, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, and World Wildlife Fund-US.
The GBFF is hosted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and so far, it has received contributions from 12 governments: Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Province of Québec, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Read this press release in French and Spanish:
- Le GBFF approuve 18 nouvelles subventions pour la préparation de projets
- GBFF aprueba 18 nuevas subvenciones para la preparación de proyectos
Project Preparation Grants Approved (Third Round)
| ID | Project Title | Agency | Country | Funding Request (incl. PPGs and fees) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11766 | Restoration of the remaining ecosystems in selected urban areas within threatened ecoregion of Central Iraq to conserve biodiversity and strengthen human-nature connectivity | UNDP | Iraq | $870,000 |
| 11769 | Sustainable Restoration and Conservation of Malagarasi - Moyowosi Wetland Ecosystem through an Integrated Approach | UNDP | Tanzania | $6,950,000 |
| 11775 | Transforming the Global Biodiversity Framework into Tangible Action in Madagascar - BioTAct (Biodiversity Tangible Action) | IUCN | Madagascar | $8,782,000 |
| 11778 | Mainstreaming Biodiversity into the Botswana's Financial Sector (MBBF) | UNDP | Botswana | $870,000 |
| 11780 | Blue Corridor: connectivity for the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of marine ecosystems of global importance in the Southern Caribbean of Costa Rica. | IUCN | Costa Rica | $4,050,000 |
| 11784 | Conservation of Biodiversity, its Sustainable Use, Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits in India (CONSERVE) | UNDP, World Bank | India | $13,820,000 |
| 11787 | Empowering Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) for sustainable management and conservation of critical ecosystems in three Highland provinces in Papua New Guinea | FAO | Papua New Guinea | $7,270,000 |
| 11792 | Conservation and sustainable use of threatened coastal and inland fish species for sustainable livelihood of fishing and farming communities | FAO | Cuba | $3,510,000 |
| 11793 | Strengthening Biodiversity in Agriculture, Restoring Ecosystem Resilience, and Empowering IPLCs in Lao PDR | FAO | Lao PDR | $1,960,000 |
| 11795 | Empowering Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for Improved Biodiversity Stewardship in the Solomon Islands | FAO | Solomon Islands | $2,709,402 |
| 11797 | Biomanglar: Empowering Collective Territories through Conservation, Sustainable Use, and Restoration Initiatives of Mangroves to Contribute to Colombia's National Biodiversity Strategy | CAF | Colombia | $16,055,485 |
| 11798 | Sustainable Management of Biodiversity and Natural Resources in the Bolivian Altiplano associated to the production of South American camelids | IFAD | Bolivia | $4,527,504 |
| 11800 | Enhancing Participatory Conservation and Restoration of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Ethiopia | UNDP | Ethiopia | $4,319,999 |
| 11802 | Sustainable Financing and Inclusive Management to Perpetuate Madagascar's Locally Managed Marine Areas | WWF-US | Madagascar | $5,934,747 |
| 11804 | EcoHarmony RD: Advancing OECMs for Biodiversity Integration in Dominican Landscapes | UNDP | Dominican Republic | $2,108,942 |
| 11810 | Strengthening the Ecological and Economic Functions of Critical Biodiversity Habitats of the N'ZI Voluntary Nature Reserve | DBSA | Cote d'Ivoire | $2,209,975 |
| 11811 | Capacity Building for the Implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Nagoya Protocol, the Cartagena Protocol, and the Promotion of Sustainable Bio-Businesses in Honduras | CAF | Honduras | $3,718,654 |
| 11818 | Conservation of Endangered cold water fish species for sustainable livelihoods of fishing communities in Middle Trishuli River Basin, Central Nepal | FAO | Nepal | $1,508,505 |
| TOTAL | $91,175,213 |
About the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund
The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) was established by the GEF at the request of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP15 to support implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Launched at the Seventh GEF Assembly in 2023, the fund aims to help countries strengthen national-level biodiversity management, policy, governance, and resource mobilization, including blended finance to leverage private sector financing. The GBFF can receive contributions from public, private, and philanthropic sources. It has streamlined procedures to provide efficient and impactful support for developing countries towards biodiversity goals, with a target of having 20 percent of its funding to support biodiversity action led by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
About the Global Environment Facility
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral family of funds dedicated to confronting biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution, and supporting land and ocean health. Its financing enables developing countries to address complex challenges and work towards international environmental goals. The partnership includes 186 member governments as well as civil society, Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth, with a focus on integration and inclusivity. Over the past three decades, the GEF has provided more than $26 billion in financing and mobilized $149 billion for country-driven priority projects. The family of funds includes the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund, Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund (NPIF), and Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency Trust Fund (CBIT).
Media Contact
Alexandre Pinheiro Rego
Senior Communications Officer
arego@thegef.org
