Last week, at the Seventh Assembly of the Global Environment Facility, representatives from 185 countries adopted a multibillion dollar fund aimed at protecting the planet's biodiversity (thegef). The fund, known as the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, is designed to support and achieve the goals outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15 last year (Europa). These ambitious objectives encompass endeavors to cease and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, while also guiding nature toward a path of recovery by 2050 (thegef).

The fund's primary objective is to provide substantial financial resources for efforts focused on conserving and restoring biodiversity on a global scale. According to the United Nations (U.N.), over one million species are estimated to be facing extinction (Reuters). The fund will play a crucial role in distributing resources across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors, allocating an estimated 20% toward Indigenous-led conservation initiatives and over one-third toward Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries (thegef). Canada has announced its commitment of 200 million Canadian dollars ($147 million) to the fund, with the United Kingdom contributing 10 million pounds ($13 million). Support has also come from environmental organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, which warmly welcomed and applauded the adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (WWF).

David Cooper, acting executive secretary of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, stated, "We now call for further pledges from countries and from other sources so that the first projects under the new fund can be launched next year" (Reuters).