Getting financial resources to local levels in support of impactful conservation

It is critical that funding gets to where biodiversity conservation is yielding positive outcomes to people and nature and promotes the agency of IPLCs and national actors and organizations, including women and youth.

Discussions under Target 19 of the first draft of the Post2020 Global Biodiversity Framework have largely focused on ensuring an increase in financial resources to close the financing gap as well as increasing financial flows to developing countries. This is important, as the current financing gap is estimated around US$ 700 billion, and conservation interventions in developing countries that host most of the world’s biodiversity remain underfunded. 

While availability of resources is crucial, there is another important layer that gets buried in the

discussion, the one of accessibility and allocation of resources. Large scale and multi-lateral funding processes are complex, requiring intermediaries. This favors large NGOs and intergovernmental organizations meaning funds do not always reach the grassroots, where they are needed. 

Current financial mechanisms are difficult to access for indigenous peoples and local communities, women, youth and other disadvantaged groups and for national organizations. This creates a situation where these groups are often contracted by large NGOs and Intergovernmental organizations to do the work, while getting only a small piece of the pie. Such arrangements undermine the agency, institutional capacity and thought leadership of actors in the Global South. 

Importantly, funding should be sustainable and long-term, consistent with the long-term nature of biodiversity conservation and should contribute to societal resilience. As parties negotiate the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, they need to ensure that not only is the financing gap closed, but also that appropriate mechanisms are established to ensure that resources are accessible to IPLCs, women and youth who continue to champion action on the ground.

By Simangele Msweli, African Wildlife Foundation, Senior Manager Youth Leadership Program

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