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5 billion for a nature positive by 2030!

Posted on 27 September 2021

The Transformative Action for Nature and People event this September 22, 2021, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and online, generated an outstanding $5 billion in funding for global biodiversity.

This is the largest philanthropic commitment ever made to nature conservation. This commitment guarantees the protection and preservation of 30% of the planet by 2030 in the most important places for biodiversity, including Madagascar.
The nine foundations that have committed to this colossal investment in nature are: Arcadia, one of the UK's largest philanthropic foundations; Bezos Earth Fund; Bloomberg Philanthropies; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; Nia Téro; Rainforest Trust ($500 million); Re:wild; Wyss Foundation ($500 million); and the Rob and Melani Walton Foundation.

This is important for the planet and for Madagascar because the Bezos Earth Fund will support the sustainable management of nearly 87,000 hectares of mangroves on the west coast of the big island and the restoration of 7,500 hectares of degraded mangroves by 2025. This fund will also strengthen the resilience of ecosystems and communities to climate change in the Menabe, Melaky and Diana Regions. The urgency of reversing biodiversity loss is now a shared cause among these philanthropic foundations, most of which are linked to national and international private sector groups.

Commenting on these commitments, Marco Lambertini, Executive Director of WWF International, said, "Today's announcements show that the world is converging around the need to reverse nature loss and is beginning to mobilize funds on a large scale, taking a promising step towards closing the $700 billion per year funding gap to reverse nature loss."

Indeed, to reverse the decline in biodiversity by 2030, analysis from the Paulson Institute suggests that, globally, we need to spend between $722-$967 billion each year over the next ten years. This puts the biodiversity funding gap at an average of $711 billion, or between $598-$824 billion per year. The planet needs us to allocate public and private funding to support sustainable practices in sectors that are currently driving nature and biodiversity loss, such as agriculture, fisheries and infrastructure. This is possible and also makes economic sense, as we now know that the loss of biodiversity is very expensive.

In addition, on September 22, Liberia, Rwanda, and Sudan are the three new African countries that have officially signed the Leaders Pledge for Nature, while Madagascar, a mega-diverse country and one of the most climate-impacted countries in the world, has not yet signed this global commitment.

Nanie Ratsifandrihamanana, Director of WWF Madagascar, said: "Madagascar must stand in solidarity with the rest of the planet in the face of the ecological and climate crisis we are experiencing. With its experience in biodiversity conservation, Madagascar has a lot to contribute to current and future international debates to ensure a future that is respectful of nature, equitable for all and carbon neutral for humanity. WWF reiterates its willingness to assist Madagascar in its efforts to preserve its unique natural heritage for the benefit of all Malagasy."

A total of (1) 92 world leaders now support this leaders' commitment to nature, with a global target to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. For example, (2) 72 countries support a target to protect at least 30% of the world's land and oceans by 2030 and (3) an additional 28 countries support a target to protect at least 30% of the oceans. Together, these three coalitions represent 120 countries, 41% of GDP, and 32% of the world's population. Madagascar, the world is waiting for us!