Kaieteur Falls in Guyana
Copyright© Daniel Rosengren
A strong partner in global nature conservation Germany to increase international biodiversity finance to 1.5 billion euros per year by 2025
Press release 30 September 2022 | Last week in New York, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany would make 1.5 billion euros available annually for international biodiversity conservation starting from 2025. This doubles the roughly 750 million euros per year that were invested on average from 2017 to 2021.
The funds are part of an increase in the budget for international climate action to at least 6 billion euros per year by 2025 at the latest. The German government is sending an important signal for the protection of forests and other endangered ecosystems around the world and in support of an ambitious outcome at CBD COP 15 in Montreal in December 2022.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke commented: “If we do not halt the global destruction of habitats and species extinction, we will destroy the foundations of our own lives. That is why the increase in international biodiversity finance announced by Chancellor Scholz today is an important and necessary milestone. As Germany’s chief negotiator at the CBD COP 15 in December, this will bolster my efforts to achieve an ambitious global biodiversity framework that will enable us to stop the destruction of nature. Our investments in global biodiversity conservation will help ensure that the framework is actually implemented. Increasing our biodiversity finance to 1.5 billion euros annually by 2025 is thus also an investment in the future. Partner countries can continue to count on the German government to support their activities on integrated climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation.”
Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze commented: “1.5 billion euros per year for global species and ecosystem conservation is a substantial increase and a politically important sign of solidarity ahead of the meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity. This sum means that Germany, as the largest international donor, will remain a leader in efforts to preserve nature in developing countries and emerging economies. Ambitious nature conservation is also smart development policy. The nature crisis does not just affect plants and animals; it also has an impact on people. Forests are a building block of life for of a third of humankind. Without an intact natural world, people would stand helpless in the face of the forces of nature, whether in the form of heat waves, droughts or floods. The hunger crisis is also closely linked to the state of the natural world. Successful efforts to protect nature and restore destroyed ecosystems are also an excellent method for tackling climate change and enhancing global food security. It is important to me that local communities play a central role in implementation and that their rights are respected, especially indigenous people with their great stores of experience.”
The impacts of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss affect the poorest people and countries most severely. Biodiversity is not just key in the fight against climate change. It is also important for global food supply. Most biodiversity projects supported by the German government also help to combat climate change. Many also address food security.
Specifically, the German government’s support in developing countries and emerging economies helps ensure, for instance, the long-term preservation of the ecologically most valuable national park in the world. Restoring ecosystems that have been destroyed is another priority in addition to enhancing protected areas. In the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), the BMZ is supporting the restoration of 100 million hectares of forested or tree-rich landscapes by 2030.
The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 15) in Montreal in December 2022 is set to adopt a new global framework on protecting nature and restoring ecosystems. Germany and the European Union, like many other countries, are pushing for long-term improvements to global conservation finance. This requires aligning financial flows with biodiversity goals, for example by ending subsidies harmful to nature and investing more public and private money in nature conservation. Federal Environment Minister Lemke and Federal Development Minister Schulze therefore support the 10 Point Plan to Finance Biodiversity, which was presented yesterday in New York. In the plan, the supporters call on other countries, the private sector and international financial institutions to carry out ten actions to improve biodiversity finance.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s announcement was made during the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations at the event “Countdown to CBD COP 15: Landmark Leaders’ Event for A Nature Positive World”, which the Federal Environment Ministry co-hosted.