SANTO DOMINGO. -The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the Biodiversity Finance (BIOFIN) project, with the aim of strengthening public and private investment in the protection of biodiversity in the Dominican Republic.
The plan aims to close the funding gap for the implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategy and its Action Plan (ENBPA). To this end, it proposes innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms that align national priorities with the commitments of the new Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biodiversity, according to a press release.
It explains that the initiative is supported by a network of international donors, including the European Union, the governments of Germany, Norway, Flanders, France, Switzerland, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It also relies on a strategic alliance with global actors such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Network (BES-Net), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) initiative, the ValuES project supporting ecosystem services, and other partners within the United Nations system.
Iván Cruz, Director of Financial Mechanisms at the Vice Ministry of Climate Change and Sustainability, during the presentation, offered a global framework on the project and explained that “the objective of BIOFIN is to contribute to the global objective of the Global Biodiversity Framework which seeks the design and implementation of innovative financial solutions that allow the mobilization of resources for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.”.
Speaking on behalf of the Vice Minister of Climate Change and Sustainability, Ana Emilia Pimentel, Cruz stated that in the Dominican Republic, the BIOFIN project represents a key tool for advancing the national vision of biodiversity financing. “Our conservation goals must be aligned with public and private investments,” she said. She added that “this project invites us to identify how we finance conservation and how we can align our fiscal, budgetary, and investment policies with the commitments we have made at the international level.”.
For her part, UNDP Resident Representative Ana María Díaz highlighted the importance of the project due to its global reach. “This global UNDP initiative, present in more than 130 countries, seeks to identify how public and private resources are being used for biodiversity, and how we can mobilize more and better investments to protect our natural capital. This involves identifying new sources of innovative financing and designing financial instruments tailored to key sectors where sustainability can be a competitive advantage,” she stated.
Likewise, during her speech, the Director of Biodiversity Marina Hernández emphasized the fundamental role that the program will play in the effective implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategy and its Action Plan (ENBPA), highlighting that BIOFIN will be the catalyst that will allow the goals of the National Biodiversity Strategy and its Action Plan to be translated into concrete and sustainable actions over time.
In Ecuador, the project will be implemented during the period 2025-2027, in parallel with the updating of the National Biodiversity Financing Strategy (ENBPA). As part of this process, the first National Biodiversity Financing Plan (BFP) will be designed, with the aim of establishing a sustainable and strategic framework for mobilizing resources for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the country. Furthermore, it will be closely aligned with national priorities through collaborative work with the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, the Ministry of Finance, and other relevant entities.
The event was attended by the Director of Biodiversity of the Ministry of Environment, Mariana Hernández; the officer of the Environmental Sustainability and Resilience Unit of the UNDP, Pierre Candelón; authorities and expert technicians of the entity; as well as representatives of civil society and the private sector.
"With the launch of this project, the country joins more than 130 nations that are part of the global BIOFIN platform and strengthens its capacity to mobilize resources to conserve its natural wealth, reduce biodiversity loss and move towards a more sustainable economy," the press release stated.
