Germany steps up its global efforts for nature

In 2023, the German government provided 1.36 billion euros for the conservation of species and ecosystems in developing and emerging economies. This is an increase of more than 450 million euros compared with 2022. The funding is being used to support countries worldwide in protecting, restoring and sustainably managing peatlands, forests, oceans and other vital ecosystems. These natural areas have immense carbon storage capacity and are crucial for mitigating climate change and halting biodiversity loss. Moreover, they provide livelihoods for local communities. Germany is a reliable partner in this context. The support that Germany has provided so far will lend momentum to the upcoming World Nature Conference to be held in Cali, Colombia from 21 October to 1 November 2024.

Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke commented: "Germany is increasing its financing for international biodiversity, thus signalling that we are a reliable partner in the fight against global biodiversity loss. This is a good foundation for negotiations at the upcoming COP16 that will begin in Colombia next week. Biodiversity is the basis for human life. Healthy ecosystems secure our food supply, keep the air clean, provide us with drinking water and are the bedrock of functioning economies. The decisions taken in Montreal to protect nature indicate where and how we can and must take corrective action. Through international biodiversity finance, we are supporting our partner countries in the Global South in realising international conservation goals. In this way, we are helping to safeguard ecosystem services for people and improve local living conditions in a tangible way."

Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze said, "The most important currency in international negotiations is trust. Our partner countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are ready to protect their natural environment and they are aware that by doing this, they are also rendering a service to the global community. That is why they are rightly calling on the international community to do their bit as well. It is therefore very important that Germany keeps its promise to significantly scale up its support. This will lend momentum to the negotiations at the World Nature Conference in Colombia. Our partner governments have agreed on more projects for nature with us than ever before. That is good for the local people who depend on nature for their livelihoods, especially the Indigenous population. But it is also good for the people in Germany and the rest of the world. More than half of the global economy depends on ecosystems and their services. The services that nature provides to all of us have no limits or borders."

The funds for international biodiversity conservation are part of the German government’s international climate finance, because most investments in species and ecosystems also help with protecting the climate or adapting to the climate crisis. In 2022, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a commitment for Germany that by 2025 it would increase its international biodiversity financing to 1.5 billion euros a year. The 1.36 billion euros made available in 2023 shows that the German government has taken a step towards meeting its commitment.

Conserving nature whilst managing it sustainably also requires a major global effort and the mobilisation of funds from all sources: international and national, public and private. That is why the German government will continue to lobby at the upcoming World Nature Conference for strong economies that have not been part of the traditional donor community so far and private actors to contribute to global biodiversity protection, thus making sure that the responsibility is shouldered by more players.

In 2023, 1.04 billion euros in budget funds went into projects that the German Development Ministry agreed with its partner countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and also into contributions to multilateral climate and environmental funds and development banks. This is an increase of more than 340 million euros compared with the previous year. One reason for this is that the Ministry, in collaboration with its partners, has now made sure that the protection and sustainable use of nature is also an integral part of agricultural and urban development projects right from the start.

With the funds, the BMZ supports for instance more than 900 protected areas, which together cover an area of 2.5 million square metres, more than six times the size of Germany. It also supports Afro-European business partnerships that harness local biodiversity and its sustainable management, for instance by using natural raw materials and ingredients for high-quality food products, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. This benefits not only the environment but also local communities, including Indigenous Peoples, who play a significant role in the conservation of biodiversity whilst very much depending on intact ecosystems. Through its multilateral activities, the BMZ is also able to bring its influence to bear on the work of international organisations, such as the World Bank, getting them to put a stronger focus on nature conservation.

Overall, 313 million euros of the aforementioned funding came from the International Climate Initiative (IKI), which is being coordinated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and implemented by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and the Federal Foreign Office. This is an increase of more than 108 million euros compared with the previous year.

The IKI provides funding for projects to promote climate and biodiversity protection in developing countries and emerging economies. For instance, it supports countries in the implementation of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).

Furthermore, 9.5 million euros in funding came from the BMUV; these funds are used, for instance, to finance the participation of representatives of developing and emerging economies in Conferences of the Parties, or for the fight against poaching.