In the frame of CBD COP16, at the GEF Partnership Pavilion, the CBD Women’s Caucus, Global Youth Biodiversity Network, and the Resource Mobilization Working Group within the IIFB hosted the thought-provoking session Decolonise Biodiversity Finance: A Conversation from a Human Rights Lens. This event brought together experts and advocates to explore how economic resources for nature conservation and its associated financial mechanisms can be restructured to support equitable and just biodiversity policy and action while centering human rights mandates.
The session featured three distinguished speakers: Ms. Amelia Arreguín-Prado, Coordinator of the CBD Women’s Caucus; Mr. Heitor Dellasta, Policy Co-Coordinator of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network; and Mr. Ramson Karmushu, a member of the Resource Mobilization Working Group within the IIFB. Moderating the conversation was Ms. June Rubis from the ICCA Consortium.
Highlights from the floor
Ms. Arreguín-Prado underscored the urgency of shifting away from extractivist economic systems that exploit nature, advocating for financial mechanisms rooted in human rights and harmony with nature. She highlighted the lack of transparency and accountability in current biodiversity financing, noting that funds often fail to reach grassroots levels. Drawing from her experience, she called for aligning financial flows with human rights obligations and emphasized the importance of trust-based, unrestricted, and flexible funding models to support women, Indigenous peoples, local communities, and youth.
Mr. Dellasta critiqued the commodification of nature in financial mechanisms, which often fail to address the complexity of ecosystems and local communities’ realities. He advocated for non-market-based approaches and Mother Earth-centric values, emphasizing the need to support governance structures and provide direct funding to grassroots organizations. He also highlighted the harmful impact of current economic systems, which channel resources into activities detrimental to biodiversity, urging reforms to prioritize equity, stewardship, and justice.
Mr. Karmushu focused on the challenges Indigenous peoples face in accessing biodiversity financing, including land rights violations and biased financial allocations. He called for flexible, consistent funding mechanisms tailored to Indigenous contexts, such as the inclusion of Indigenous governance in financial decision-making. Highlighting the inefficiencies of intermediaries, he advocated for direct financing to ensure resources reach the ground and address community needs, urging a shift from aspirational goals to actionable realities.
Key Takeaways
Centering Human Rights in Biodiversity Finance: All biodiversity related funding flows and financial mechanisms must prioritise human rights, ensuring equitable access and meaningful participation for Indigenous peoples, local communities, women, and youth.
Rethinking Financial Models: There is an urgent need to move away from commodified, market-driven approaches and adopt non-market, Mother Earth-centric financing that values stewardship and relational connections to nature.
Improving Transparency and Accountability: Mechanisms must be reformed to track and evaluate the impact of financial flows, ensuring funds genuinely reach and benefit grassroots efforts.
Direct and Flexible Financing: Participants highlighted the importance of direct funding mechanisms that reduce bureaucratic barriers and address the unique needs of local communities, particularly in vulnerable ecosystems.
Inclusive Governance: Integrating Indigenous governance and diverse stakeholder perspectives into financial decision-making processes is key to achieving more equitable and sustainable outcomes.
The session underscored the need to decolonise biodiversity finance by aligning financial mechanisms with human rights, equity, and ecological integrity. As COP16 progresses, the voices of Indigenous peoples, local communities, women, and youth must remain central to ensuring biodiversity financing supports those who are most closely connected to and dependent on nature.
