MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Global fund for nature restoration and biodiversity conservation

Canada and Britain said they together would provide US$ 160 million in seed money to set up the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF).

The international community ratified a new global fund aimed at ramping up critical nature restoration and biodiversity conservation, at a gathering in Vancouver. Canada and Britain said they together would provide US$ 160 million in seed money to set up the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF).

 “We are off to a good start. We now call for further pledges from countries and from other sources so that the first projects under the new fund can be launched next year,” said David Cooper, acting executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

Representatives from 185 countries were present at the meeting. The fund is set up within the Global Environment Facility (GEF) — a mechanism established under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The fund's creation comes after more than 190 countries signed a pact at the Montreal COP15 summit in December 2022 to protect nature and reverse decades of environmental damage which threatens biodiversity.

That pact's objective was to raise US$ 30 billion annually in conservation aid for developing countries, securing 30% of the planet as a protected zone and bringing an end to extinction of threatened species caused by human activity.

The GBFF will allocate 20% of its collection towards indigenous-led initiatives to conserve biodiversity. It will also prioritize island states which are most vulnerable and among the world's least developed nations.

The United Nations called for contributions to help meet its US$ 30 billion goal for the year.

Speaking of the GBFF, campaign group Avaaz said the US$ 160 million raised was not enough startup money and that another US$40 million was required to make the fund operational by the end of 2023.

It urged governments, including that of Japan and the United States to “put money on the table.”

“The time for half-measures has passed,” Avaaz director Oscar Soria said. “Surely donors can come up with the paltry US$ 40 million” needed to get the fund up and running.