GIZ is supporting eight partner countries in strengthening their capacity to implement national biodiversity targets, including Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), and Indonesia, which together host 60% of the world’s tropical forest ecosystems. These forests are critical for addressing biodiversity loss and climate change. To promote cooperation, the project organized study trips to Brazil and Indonesia in 2025, bringing together senior government officials, technical experts, and civil society leaders from all three countries. Participants visited key biodiversity sites, exchanged experiences, shared subnational implementation strategies, and explored community-based species conservation, governance, financing, monitoring, and access and benefit-sharing approaches. These exchanges fostered new partnerships and highlighted the value of mutual learning among countries facing similar conservation challenges.
Strong biodiversity governance relies on clear, stable institutions that operate effectively across sectors. Integrating biodiversity into wider development and economic planning requires collaboration between ministries, strong links between science, civil society, and policy, leadership support, and shared biodiversity data to inform national decisions. Brazil provides an example through its biodiversity coordination platform, which brings together government actors and stakeholders from civil society, academia, environmental organizations, and Indigenous Peoples. This inclusive decision-making enables effective policy formation and implementation, supporting Brazil’s biodiversity commitments.
Subnational activities are essential for coherent and effective biodiversity policy, as conservation largely takes place at the local level. Local authorities are central to achieving national targets, and coordination with national governments ensures guidance, ownership, and sustainability. In Indonesia, provincial governments align subnational biodiversity strategies with national policies, applying local access and benefit-sharing mechanisms, strengthening high-conservation-value areas, and using diverse financing approaches to support sustainable management.
Engagement across society, especially with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, is critical for effective conservation. Recognition of land rights and linking ecological goals to social and economic benefits improves outcomes. In DR Congo, community-based conservation initiatives, such as those in Luwe Itota Protected Forest and Nkuba Conservation Area, empower local communities to manage protected zones using traditional knowledge and customary governance systems. These initiatives protect species like the Critically Endangered Eastern Lowland Gorilla while promoting sustainable livelihoods. Payments for ecosystem services in agroforestry, reforestation, and land regeneration further encourage community participation.
Effective financing for biodiversity conservation depends on cooperation between government, private sector, and local communities. Incentives such as tax measures, dedicated funding schemes, and linking conservation to economic valuation support sustainable efforts. Indonesia’s Climate Budget Tagging (CBT) tool tracks and optimizes climate- and biodiversity-related expenditures, ensuring subnational strategies are adequately financed and identifying gaps in funding.
The trilateral knowledge exchange among Brazil, Indonesia, and DR Congo generated concrete outcomes and strengthened momentum for collective action. Participants learned from each other through site visits, presentations, and discussions, forming personal and institutional relationships that laid the groundwork for ongoing collaboration. DR Congo, for instance, began applying insights from Brazil and Indonesia to its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). The countries established coordination mechanisms, conducted virtual discussions on access and benefit-sharing, and aligned strategies across UN conventions. Joint side events at COP30 highlighted Indigenous Peoples’ role in forest conservation and cross-national collaboration. These exchanges have enabled the three megadiverse countries to advance on the international stage, and a roadmap is now planned to strengthen institutions, cross-convention coordination, innovative financing, and joint research for measurable progress in biodiversity protection.
