(Vancouver, Canada) -- WWF welcomes today's adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) at the Seventh Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The GBFF will help mobilize and accelerate investment in the conservation of wild species and ecosystems, whose health is under threat from wildfires, flooding, extreme weather, and human activity including urban sprawl.
"This is a major achievement that will assist developing countries with their commitment to halt and reverse the loss of nature by 2030," said WWF International Senior Director of Global Policy and Advocacy Lin Li. "Having moved from a mandate in Montreal to a financially-backed reality in Vancouver in just eight months, the adoption of the GBFF is an initial step towards tackling the global biodiversity crisis. The world needs a robust GBFF to help to close the global biodiversity finance gap."
WWF applauds Canada's commitment of US$147 million (CAD$200 million), and the United Kingdom's US$12 million (GBP$10 million) to capitalize the fund. Both countries have shown strong leadership with their financial support, which will bolster global efforts to preserve fragile ecosystems and protect endangered species for generations to come.
However, the GBFF cannot function until an additional $40M is pledged to match the $200M minimum required to establish the fund according to the World Bank requirement as trustee. WWF calls on all the countries, multilateral development banks, private sectors, financial institutions and philanthropists, to contribute immediately and significantly to the fund to make it fully operational and in time before the next CBD COP to help implement the ambitious targets set in Montreal.
