Money where it matters – GBF finance must support locally led action
By Ebony Holland, International Institute for Environment and Development
Finance and resource mobilisation negotiations recommence with gusto today in Nairobi at OEWG 4. But with a major red flag - focusing just on the quantity of money needed to implement the GBF misses the full story. As highlighted at an IIFB and IIED roundtable yesterday, there needs to be more attention given to ensuring the finance is accessible and reaches those who need it most at the local level – Indigenous peoples, local communities, women, youth, farmers and other local actors, in a timely manner.
Locally-led action - where finance and decision-making power is shifted to the local level to support local solutions and implementation - is recognised as critical to conserving, managing and restoring land and marine-based nature. The GBF cannot be implemented without it.
Yet, recognition of the need to ensure finance reaches the local level is largely absent from the text and negotiations. This omission means local actors lack the support to be active agents of change thus undermining their extensive local, intergenerational, indigenous, traditional and cultural knowledge. It further risks perpetuating the ongoing and urgent struggle for rights and resources.
There is an undeniable air of optimism around the OEWG4 halls this week with COP15 dates now locked in, but this brings even more pressure to finalise negotiations in time. As countries start to debate and wordsmith their way to (hopefully) greater clarity on Goal D and Targets 18 and 19 today - components that will substantially shape the resources and finance available to implement the GBF - we call on them to embed locally-led action as a central component of GBF finance delivery, and include this as part of the indicators and the accountability framework.
For the latest IIED research on locally-led action for people, nature and climate, see our recent Stockholm+50 report, available at https://pubs.iied.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/2022-05/20966iied.pdf and contact the author of this article to join future discussions on this topic (ebony.holland@iied.org).
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