Key Impact Points:
- 15 Pacific Island Countries unite to launch the GEF-8-funded Pacific BIOFIN Umbrella Programme.
- The initiative supports tailored biodiversity finance plans aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
- The programme will advance SDGs 14 and 15 through locally driven, gender-inclusive, and Indigenous-informed strategies.
Pacific Nations Unite for Biodiversity Finance Breakthrough
Government representatives from 15 Pacific Island Countries and Territories have officially launched the Pacific Biodiversity Finance (BIOFIN) Umbrella Programme at a four-day inception workshop in Pacific Harbour, Fiji. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF-8), the programme marks a major regional milestone to enhance biodiversity financing aligned with sustainable development.
Hosted by the Government of Fiji, the workshop kickstarts efforts to develop National Biodiversity Finance Plans tailored to Pacific needs. These plans will support long-term conservation investment strategies while embedding gender equality, social safeguards, and Indigenous knowledge.
“Biodiversity is not a luxury. It is the foundation of our economies, our food systems, our resilience, and our identity. If we fail to finance it properly, we are not just failing nature—we are failing ourselves,” said Dr. Sivendra Michael, Fiji’s Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
“If we do not innovate how we finance biodiversity in the Pacific at the scale, scope, and speed it deserves, we risk losing the very essence of who we are.”
From Global Commitment to Regional Action
The Pacific BIOFIN Programme aligns directly with global goals under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly Target 19, which urges nations to scale up resource mobilization and align financial flows with nature-positive outcomes.
“This is not just a workshop—it is the start of a new chapter for the Pacific,” said Abduvakkos Abdurahmanov, Deputy Resident Representative (OIC) of the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji. “With BIOFIN, we are working together to unlock financing that reflects the true value of biodiversity. It is about bridging the gap between environmental protection and sustainable development.”
Just weeks before the launch, more than 130 countries gathered in Santiago, Chile, for the world’s largest-ever meeting on biodiversity finance—signaling global momentum that now includes the Pacific in its leading ranks.
Expanding a Proven Model to the Pacific
The BIOFIN model—already implemented in over 40 countries and generating 150+ finance solutions like green taxes and public-private partnerships—will now be tailored for 15 Pacific nations: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Cook Islands, New Zealand (voluntarily), Nauru, and Niue.
Workshop sessions include technical training, peer exchange, harmful subsidy reviews, and finance planning. Delegates are also crafting strategies to integrate gender equity, Indigenous leadership, and climate resilience into financing models.
Toward a Resilient, Nature-Positive Future
As Pacific nations face the compound threats of biodiversity loss, climate change, and fiscal limitations, the BIOFIN Umbrella Programme sets a foundation for transformative investment in ecosystems.
This initiative is supported by the Global Environment Facility, European Union, Flanders State of the Art, and the Governments of Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, and Canada.
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