The African Development Bank Group is seeking stronger financial and institutional support for biodiversity protection across Africa as governments and development partners gather in Yerevan, Armenia, from October 19 to 30 for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17).

The Bank plans to use the conference to promote investment in ecosystem restoration, nature-based solutions and natural capital, highlighting the economic risks of biodiversity loss to African countries whose food systems, water supplies, livelihoods and climate resilience depend on healthy ecosystems.

According to the Bank’s announcement, its delegation will engage African governments, development partners, private sector representatives and other multilateral development banks on mobilising finance and implementing national biodiversity commitments.

The discussions precede the first global review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, which sets international targets for halting and reversing biodiversity loss.

For African countries, the challenge is turning these commitments into funded programmes and viable projects while balancing competing demands for infrastructure, energy, agriculture and employment. Limited public resources and institutional capacity could constrain implementation, making access to appropriate financing critical.

The Bank’s COP17 agenda will focus on nature-based solutions, ecosystem restoration, natural capital accounting and innovative financing. These priorities link environmental protection to economic planning, including how governments value forests, wetlands, coastal ecosystems and other natural assets when making investment and infrastructure decisions.

Natural capital accounting helps governments recognise the economic contribution of ecosystems. Forests support water regulation, agricultural productivity and carbon storage, while wetlands and coastal ecosystems provide flood protection and sustain fisheries. Excluding these benefits from economic assessments can favour projects with immediate returns over investments that preserve long-term environmental and economic value.

Environmental degradation can also increase water management costs, weaken agricultural production and expose communities and infrastructure to greater climate risks. Integrating natural capital into public planning could help governments identify these costs earlier, provided reliable data, technical expertise and effective budgeting systems are available.

Financing remains a major obstacle. Conservation and restoration projects often generate long-term benefits that are difficult for individual investors to capture, making conventional commercial lending challenging, particularly where revenue streams are uncertain or benefits extend across entire communities.

The Bank will therefore explore innovative financing for protected areas, landscape restoration and nature-positive businesses. Options include blended finance, which combines public or concessional funding with private investment, and financial instruments supporting the long-term management of natural assets. Their viability will depend on project economics, regulatory frameworks and how risks and benefits are shared.

One scheduled engagement on October 20 will examine park bonds as a means of mobilising capital for protected areas in West Africa. Such instruments would require credible revenue arrangements, transparent governance and clear accountability for conservation outcomes to attract investment without imposing unsustainable obligations on governments or local communities.

The Bank will also convene discussions on blended finance for Africa’s nature-positive bioeconomy, which includes economic activities such as forest-based production and agriculture that depend on the sustainable use of natural resources. The focus is on supporting businesses, job creation and value addition while protecting the ecosystems that sustain these activities.

Biodiversity is closely tied to economic security across African communities. Farmers depend on healthy soils, pollination and reliable water supplies, while fishing communities rely on functioning freshwater and marine ecosystems. Resource degradation can reduce productivity, raise costs and limit income opportunities.

Financing arrangements must therefore account for community interests, land and resource rights, meaningful consultation and transparent benefit-sharing. Effective monitoring is also necessary to demonstrate environmental results and prevent disputes or the diversion of benefits from communities affected by conservation decisions.

The African Development Bank will coordinate with other multilateral development banks through a joint pavilion at COP17. Discussions will examine how development finance institutions can align their operations with biodiversity objectives and support countries implementing their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans.

Greater coordination could reduce fragmentation between environmental programmes and wider development investments, although financing commitments and implementation responsibilities must be clearly defined.

The first global review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework gives the conference added importance. It will assess progress towards international biodiversity targets and identify where implementation and financial support need improvement. African countries can use the process to advocate for funding that reflects the costs of national plans and the development pressures facing economies rich in natural resources.

However, international negotiations alone will not guarantee new funding. Progress will depend on securing accessible finance, developing stronger project pipelines and building the capacity of national institutions to prepare investment-ready projects, assess environmental risks and demonstrate results. Financial institutions must also incorporate biodiversity objectives into lending and investment decisions.

The broader challenge is to enable African economies to create jobs, expand productive capacity and improve public services without undermining the natural systems that sustain long-term growth. This requires biodiversity considerations to feature in decisions on agriculture, infrastructure, finance and industrial development, rather than being treated solely as a conservation issue.

As COP17 opens, the key test will be whether commitments translate into practical financing and implementation at national and community levels. Sustained investment, capable institutions and transparent accountability will be essential to protecting ecosystems while strengthening economic resilience.

For Africa, the stakes extend beyond species and protected areas to food security, water management, infrastructure resilience and the livelihoods supported by the continent’s natural resources.

Source: Africa Sustainability Matters