The world’s oldest multilateral climate fund — the Global Environment Facility (GEF) — is planning a new wave of wildlife conservation bonds, in an effort to help African countries protect endangered species and ecosystems.
These wildlife bonds, which offer low-cost financing in exchange for reductions in poaching or other conservation efforts, were first launched in 2022 with a rhino protection project backed by the World Bank. Since then, other examples have followed: last year, a bond was issued to protect chimpanzees in Rwanda, and in June, the GEF approved a new initiative for lemur conservation in Madagascar.
GEF’s head of programming, Fred Boltz, affiliated with the World Bank, stated during a meeting of African environment ministers that the goal is to develop conservation bonds for each of Africa’s 54 countries. According to Boltz, this would require an investment of $150 million from the GEF, which would be leveraged tenfold through other loans, ultimately mobilizing $1.5 billion for conservation efforts.
Funds raised through wildlife-linked debt instruments typically do not appear on the books of recipient governments, meaning the GEF can provide much-needed financing to poorer nations without burdening their debt profiles, according to climate finance experts.
These bonds usually focus on iconic species to attract specialist investors and wealthy philanthropists. Their payouts are directly tied to conservation outcomes — the better the results, the less governments need to repay. “But the GEF now hopes to expand this financing model to include entire ecosystems, such as wetlands,” said Boltz.
This initiative comes at a time when cuts to aid and development funding by the United States and other major economies are threatening some conservation programs.
“There are many countries asking and suggesting that, in this difficult environment for official development assistance, it may be hard to sustain the current level of replenishment,” Boltz emphasized. “Maybe we need to try to do more with less,” he acknowledged.
The GEF has invested $7.7 billion in Africa across various projects — including an $85 million initiative to combat desertification in the Sahel region. It is now urging donors to replenish its fund for the next four-year programming cycle, which begins in 2026.
The fund’s most recent fundraising round raised $5.3 billion, marking a 30% increase compared to the previous cycle, amid growing international support for climate and environmental goals.
That round drew contributions from 29 countries, with the United States among the largest donors, pledging $700 million.
Source: Reuters
