At UNDP, we view nature as a solution. We have already made a substantial investment in nature-based solutions – we support some 819 active projects, representing a US$2.52 billion investment, with US$11.2 billion in co-finance.
As we look to the future, we see five major strategies for finding nature-based solutions to solve our development challenges.
First, we must focus on disrupting the social and economic systems that cause biodiversity loss. This includes tackling the market, policy and governance failures that drive unsustainable production.
As an example, we are delighted to note the launching of the Good Growth Partnership earlier this month, a partnership of businesses, NGOs, government leaders and the Global Environment Facility focused on creating deforestation-free commodities. With the demand for soy, beef and palm oil expected to double by 2030, the Good Growth Partnership works across production, financing and demand to convene a wide range of stakeholders, in order to create lasting, transformative change throughout these key global commodity supply chains. This ambitious effort aims to balance the needs of a growing global population with social and environmental responsibilities.
Second, we need to support countries to fully implement their existing commitments to protect and restore of ecosystems. These include the 2020 CBD Strategic Plan, the New York Declaration on Forests, the Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement and the Bonn Challenge, among others. Doing so, will help secure vital ecosystem services, including water security and food security, as well as promote poverty eradication and disaster risk reduction.
Third, we need to transform the underlying systems that maintain an unsustainable status quo – the systems of finance, tenure, land rights, and policies - by helping governments identify and access new finance solutions.
Through UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative, we work with 30 countries around the world to help ministries of finance and environment work together to find creative and innovative solutions to fill their biodiversity finance gaps. We also work on promoting land rights, especially around mining and extractive industries.
Fourth, we must focus on strengthening resilience to climate shocks by promoting nature-based climate change adaptation and mitigation. By fortifying the front line of climate change – the forests, wetlands, mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs – we protect our own cities and communities from disaster.
And finally, we must help governments transition to green economies by supporting them to conduct green fiscal reform – to correct market failures, to phase out harmful incentives and subsidies, to shift consumption patterns and to drive private capital toward products and production processes with lower resource footprints.