The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved 20 new project preparation grants across 25 countries, including 16 accessing the GBFF for the first time. With a total of $73.4 million programmed, this fifth selection round expands both the geographic reach and thematic ambition of the GBFF, covering Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. The portfolio includes multilateral development banks, UN agencies, and civil society organizations, with a strong focus on Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs), transboundary conservation, and biodiversity-friendly finance.
The new projects continue to advance the GBFF’s portfolio-level targets. To date, 31.9 percent of GBFF funding has supported IPLC actions, surpassing the 20 percent target, while 38.8 percent of funding has gone to Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, meeting the 39 percent goal. Additionally, 30.4 percent of projects are implemented through international financial institutions, exceeding the 25 percent target. Including this round, the GBFF has now programmed $362.2 million for 82 project preparation grants benefiting 87 countries.
Among the newly approved projects, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will lead a $9 million initiative in Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, complemented by $115 million in co-financing. The project will establish eight million hectares of Marine Prosperity Zones, IPLC-led territories that integrate conservation with biodiversity-friendly livelihoods, including gender-responsive concessional microcredit. Over two-thirds of the budget is expected to directly support IPLC-led actions, making it one of the most ambitious IPLC-centered projects in the GBFF portfolio.
In Armenia, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will support the protection and restoration of Lake Sevan, the largest lake in the Caucasus and a Ramsar site. A $1.3 million GBFF grant will finance conservation, restoration, and biodiversity-friendly community enterprises, building on ADB’s Glacier-to-Farm program, which includes a $100 million investment in the lake’s sanitation. The project aligns with Armenia’s hosting of COP17 to the Convention on Biological Diversity, emphasizing Lake Sevan’s global ecological importance.
A regional project led by WWF-US will benefit the Kavango–Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area, one of the world’s largest transboundary conservation landscapes. With $3.6 million in GBFF funding and $6.6 million in co-financing, the project will establish a Conservation Trust Fund to provide long-term financing for the 52-million-hectare area, home to critical wildlife, including the world’s largest elephant population, and millions of people whose livelihoods depend on the landscape. IPLCs will participate in governance and benefit directly from future funding windows.
In Jamaica, the IDB will implement a $3.25 million project to operationalize a performance-based co-management system for fishery conservation areas. The initiative will scale up successful sanctuary models, combining ecological recovery with local livelihoods. It will establish a Blue Performance Facility blending user fees, private investment, government budgets, and results-based grants to ensure long-term conservation sustainability.
The 20 selected projects were chosen for their potential to support national implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, deliver global environmental benefits, meet GBFF portfolio targets, and ensure regional balance. They span a wide range of ecosystems and biodiversity challenges across countries including Angola, Armenia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, El Salvador, Eswatini, Fiji, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe.
Hosted by the GEF, the GBFF has received over $386 million in contributions from 12 governments, including Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Québec, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
