At a one-day workshop on the validation of the Draft Financial Needs Assessment Report for the Development of the Biodiversity Finance Plan for Liberia, Biodiversity conservationists and environmental advocates and experts have reiterated the need for sustainable resource mobilization to address conservation priorities.
The United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) office in Liberia is implementing the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) to help develop a biodiversity finance plan for Liberia. This initiative is geared toward identifying sources and mobilizing finance to close the national biodiversity finance gaps and, subsequently, the global biodiversity finance gap.
BFNA aims to quantify Liberia’s biodiversity financing needs, compare them with current spending, and identify the gap. It is developed through the BIOFIN methodology, national policies, laws, programs, and GBF targets that define national biodiversity needs fully costed; unmet financial needs required to achieve national biodiversity targets and objectives estimated; and a national financial needs assessment report for biodiversity, including detailed costing information, shared with stakeholders for consultation.
The initial validation meeting was held last year.
The BFNA is a foundation for the country’s Biodiversity Finance Plan under the Global Environmental Finance-8 Umbrella Programme. When finally validated, the document would deliver a comprehensive, evidence-based BFNA that quantifies the resources required to achieve national biodiversity targets, compares them with current and projected expenditure, and identifies the financing gap, anchoring Liberia’s first Biodiversity Finance Plan.
At the meeting, stakeholders expressed confidence in the Stakeholders Technical Working Group’s capacity and UNDP’s commitment to strengthen collaborations and partnerships to achieve the outcomes of the BIOFIN Project. Participants were encouraged to remain engaged and fully participatory to ensure the finance needs assessment draft report and the proposed NBSAP costing are appropriate.
Liberia is a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is committed to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and Target 19 on resource mobilization.
Experts believed the Biodiversity Finance Plan for Liberia would help the country meet its commitment in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. They argued that a biodiversity finance plan (BFP) is a strategic roadmap that identifies, prioritizes, and mobilizes financial resources to close biodiversity funding gaps and support national conservation and sustainable use objectives.
Held on June 25, 2026, at the Corina Hotel on 26th Street, Sinkor, Tubman Boulevard, Monrovia, Liberia. The opening session provided an opportunity for participants to thank the stakeholders’ technical working group from relevant institutions for their invaluable support and expertise in shaping the implementation of the BIOFIN Project since its inception.
Appreciate the relevant institutions’ unflagging and strong commitment to partnership and collaboration with diverse stakeholders to drive biodiversity conservation activities and initiatives in Liberia.
These institutions include the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Forestry Development Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Fisheries & Aquaculture Authority, the University of Liberia, Conservation International, Nature for the Conservation of Nature in Liberia, and civil society organizations for their continuous support.
Liberia’s rich and highly diverse biodiversity faces constant loss due to growing threats driven by huge economic and livelihood support pressures on the country’s biodiversity.
As a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Liberia with support from UNDP and Global Environment Facility (GEF) has continued to advance progress towards the protection of its biodiversity, with the development and revision of the National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan (NBSAP) and the ongoing National Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) Project being indicative of such progress.
