To address the challenges of biodiversity loss, governments around the world must collaborate to develop and improve local, national, and international policy frameworks that safeguard the ecosystems providing services humanity depends on and accelerate the transition to a nature positive world.
Our role
With 23 targets aimed at protecting Earth’s life support systems, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is the world’s most important tool to protect nature. Implementing the GBF is an important opportunity to create ambitious policies to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Learn more about Conservation International's engagement in the GBF negotiation process »
National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs) outline how countries will achieve the GBF at the national level. Conservation International works with governments to integrate science and conservation priorities into the NBSAP update process. We work to shape biodiversity policies both at the national level, through engagement around domestic financial planning efforts, and by continuing to raise the ambition of global biodiversity financing commitments. Conservation International’s NBSAP Support Initiative has focused on helping countries prioritize win-wins for climate and biodiversity and set the right economic incentives for nature, including reforming or repurposing subsidies that are harmful to biodiversity.
Read Conservation International’s NBSAP Support Initiative Impact Report here.
Biodiversity policy priorities
Advancing nature for climate
Biodiversity loss and climate change are two sides of the same coin — and share similar solutions. Conservation International advocates for protecting high-carbon ecosystems — such as old growth forests, mangroves and peatlands — to achieve relevant GBF targets in national public policy.
This brief outlines how countries can include high-carbon ecosystems in the updates to their NBSAPs.
» Advancing Priorities Through the Global Biodiversity Framework: Irrecoverable Carbon Ecosystems | Español | Português
Mobilizing finance for biodiversity
There is an annual $700 billion financing gap for biodiversity. Filling it will require diverse sources of financing, including contributions to the new Global Biodiversity Framework Fund launched by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), official development assistance, biodiversity credits and other overall public and private commitments.
Conservation International's Lui-Walton Fellow Carlos Correa has hosted series of webinars to advocate for the mobilization of greater financial resources to support key biodiversity goals:
Incentives for nature
Creating the right economic incentives for nature, including reforming or repurposing subsidies that are harmful to biodiversity, is a critical part closing the biodiversity funding gap, while ensuring a transformation towards a fair and equitable nature-positive economy where everyone, especially the most vulnerable, can actively participate, benefit, and thrive. Conservation International is working to catalyze policy reforms that are win-wins for people, nature, and the economy. With the support and collaboration of our many partners, this work will be centered around a “just transition” approach that phases subsidies that are having negative environmental outcomes and repurposes/transitions the financing to supports outcomes that are nature positive and supports national biodiversity policies in fulfillment of the GBF.
This brief outlines recommendations for how countries can achieve GBF target 18 on eliminating, reforming, and/or phasing out USD500billion/year in subsidies harmful to biodiversity.
Promoting nature-positive economies
The NBSAP update process reflects an opportunity to advance sustainable production and nature-positive economies. Linking protection and production, and prioritizing conservation in areas that provide people with critical natural assets ensures that conservation efforts enhance human well-being and livelihoods.
This brief outlines how countries can apply the landscape approach when updating national targets on conservation and sustainable production as part of the NBSAP update process.
» Achieving the Global Biodiversity Framework by Utilizing the Landscape Approach to Link Protection and Production | Español
Ensuring participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities
When updating their NBSAPs, countries must ensure the full, equitable and inclusive participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities. Conservation International advocates for NBSAP targets and processes that involve and strengthen the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities and recognize their land tenure.
» Achieving the Global Biodiversity Framework through Guaranteeing the Roles, Rights, and Contributions of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities | Español | Français
