More than 120 biodiversity finance experts and government representatives from Europe, Asia, and the Pacific convened in Da Nang for one of the region’s largest exchanges on biodiversity finance. Organized by UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) and the Government of Viet Nam, the Eurasia-Pacific Regional Dialogue brought together over 40 countries to explore investment-ready solutions for biodiversity protection since the UN Biodiversity COP16 in Cali in 2024. The event highlighted the importance of aligning policies, incentives, and markets to ensure economic growth while conserving nature, particularly in biodiversity-rich countries like Viet Nam.
The dialogue emphasized alternative financing strategies for biodiversity, especially amid declining international development assistance. Since 2018, BIOFIN’s approach has catalyzed over USD 1.6 billion for nature across 41 countries, including Viet Nam, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. By combining innovative financial tools such as green bonds, nature-based insurance, biodiversity credits, and debt and equity instruments with strong public-private partnerships, countries are increasingly able to fund biodiversity protection while promoting inclusive economic growth.
With support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), 26 countries in the Eurasia-Pacific region are developing biodiversity finance plans for the first time, creating a foundation for long-term financing aligned with national development and global biodiversity priorities. Globally, BIOFIN now spans more than 130 countries, making it the largest initiative of its kind. The dialogue underscored the potential of “finance-for-finance” approaches, using development aid strategically to mobilize larger pools of public and private finance to address the estimated $700 billion annual global shortfall in biodiversity funding.
Participants also focused on repurposing environmentally harmful subsidies to generate fiscal savings and biodiversity gains. The role of the private sector in nature-positive investments was highlighted through blended finance instruments, benefit-sharing approaches, and contributions linked to genetic resources. UNDP’s Nature Pledge projects a potential $10 trillion in new business opportunities from a global shift to nature-positive policies, underscoring the economic as well as ecological benefits of biodiversity investment.
The dialogue showcased concrete successes in biodiversity finance across the region. Viet Nam has adopted inclusive co-management in marine conservation, Malaysia has channeled $177.3 million through Ecological Fiscal Transfers to create new protected areas, and the Philippines increased public budgets for protected areas to $122.3 million. Indonesia tracked $2.02 billion in biodiversity-related budgets and launched a conservation center protecting over 1,500 species, while Mongolia boosted investments by 217% through the Natural Resource Use Fees Law. Thailand generates $300,000 annually for coral reef conservation via tourism fees, Sri Lanka implemented livestock insurance for leopards and sustainable tourism certification, and India’s Telangana State increased biodiversity budgets sevenfold in 2024 following BIOFIN-supported advocacy. These examples demonstrate how countries are moving from planning to implementation, leveraging innovative finance to achieve measurable biodiversity outcomes.
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