By Hubert Boulet, Programme Coordinator, Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme, and Kristina Rodina, Secretary of the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

The centrality of animals and plants to human existence cannot be overstated. From helping maintain the healthy ecosystem services upon which we all depend to providing food, medicine, and livelihoods, they are key to a resilient future.

Without investing in them, and indeed in the forests that are home to up to 80% of all land-based biodiversity, we cannot achieve the SDGs on hunger (SDG 2), health and well-being (SDG 3), and decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), as well as those on protecting and sustainably using natural resources both below water and on land (SDGs 14 and 15).

Yet against the backdrop of climate change, pollution, and human population growth, it’s estimated that more than 1 million species currently face extinction.

The global community’s commitment to biodiversity is clear. The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) for halting and reversing biodiversity loss now has 196 Parties. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), agreed at the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP 15) in 2022, has 23 targets, including Target 19, which calls for mobilizing at least USD 200 billion per year by 2030 to implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs).

But in reality, only USD 143 billion is invested annually in biodiversity conservation, far from the estimated USD 824 billion needed to bring about transformative results, according to the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN).

This highlights the need for increased funding for wildlife conservation and the adoption of innovative approaches to raise the necessary funds. That’s why this year’s World Wildlife Day is held under the theme ‘Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet.’

The fact is that much of the current investment comes from public financing, official development assistance (ODA), and philanthropy. They are important in their conventional forms, but they can also be merged creatively to generate more impact as we embrace new, innovative approaches.

There are already promising developments – blended finance, biodiversity credits and offsets, and benefit-sharing mechanisms, to name a few. Debt-for-nature swaps, which convert national debts into conservation financing, are making headlines for potential to free up as much as USD 100 billion for nature restoration. The World Bank Wildlife Conservation Bond, issued in 2022, channels private capital to finance conservation activities.

On the back of such innovations, private financing for nature surged elevenfold in four years from USD 9.4 billion in 2020 to over USD 102 billion in 2024. That’s momentum we cannot afford to lose.

We need to focus on those who care directly for the environment, such as Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Traditionally, they have received very little financial support even though they collectively manage up to 50% of the world’s land and much of the world’s biodiversity.

This is where payments for ecosystem services (PES) come in, providing positive financial incentives to people and communities who directly use and manage wildlife resources.

An effective solution can be found in rethinking public and donor funding as a way of not only providing immediate resources but also creating ripple effects that transform conservation finance.

A clear example of this is the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme, a partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

Funded by the EU, it aims to catalyze new funding streams for wildlife management by, on the one hand, improving the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife and, on the other hand, the living conditions of Indigenous Peoples and local communities who directly depend on wildlife.

Several SWM Programme projects in Southern Africa entail assessing and developing nature-based business opportunities for communities with the goal of improving livelihoods and providing future revenue streams to fund conservation areas, staff, and rangers.

Leveraging global partnerships such as the SWM Programme and the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW) – a coalition of 13 international organizations – can also strengthen credibility in fundraising and increase the appeal for potential donors.

Biodiversity loss isn’t bad only for natural systems. Over half the world’s total gross domestic product (GDP) has been reported to be dependent on nature. When wildlife suffers, so does the global economy.

The world must think outside the box and explore every financial mechanism available to successfully achieve biodiversity conservation. This is sound investment for wildlife, people, and the planet.