WINDHOEK, April 24 — Namibia is reviewing its biodiversity financing mechanisms to address policy gaps, declining investment, and emerging environmental challenges.
The review is part of the country’s ongoing Policy and Institutional Review (PIR), a key step toward developing a national biodiversity finance plan aimed at securing long-term funding for conservation under the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Biodiversity Finance Initiative.
Speaking at a stakeholder consultation in Windhoek, UNDP Namibia Deputy Resident Representative Christian Shingiro said the PIR process is central to strengthening how biodiversity is financed and managed in the country.
“It examines how biodiversity supports national development goals, identifies key drivers of biodiversity change, such as harmful subsidies and evaluates the mechanisms already in place for biodiversity finance,” Shingiro said. He added that the findings will guide the country in designing sustainable financial tools.
“Most importantly, it helps us uncover the opportunities for enhancing and innovating financing strategies that will support biodiversity conservation in the long term.” Preliminary findings from the PIR report showed that Namibia’s biodiversity expenditure decreased by 3.3 percent between 2015/16 and 2020/21, despite the government’s investment of over 50 billion Namibian dollars (about 2.69 billion U.S. dollars) in key ministries between 2006 and 2024.
The report recommended the establishment of a National Biodiversity Fund supported by taxes and levies, and the creation of a National Biodiversity Coordination Taskforce to improve cross-sector policy alignment.
The PIR findings are expected to help Namibia develop a national biodiversity finance strategy aligned with Vision 2030 and the country’s sixth National Development Plan. (Xinhua)
