Angola has allocated just over 100 trillion kwanzas to biodiversity over the past ten years, revealed Aristófanes Pontes, a biodiversity finance analyst with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), who considers the amount insufficient given the country’s needs.
Aristófanes Pontes was speaking to the press on the sidelines of the 4th Conference on Sustainability in Banking, held under the theme “Sustainable Financing in Angola: From Strategy to Implementation with Inclusive Impact,” organized by the Angolan Association of Banks (Abanc).
According to the analyst, the UNDP analyzed what the country has spent on biodiversity conservation over the past ten years and concluded that “the budget allocation has not been very substantial.”
“When you look at the General State Budget (OGE), it is difficult to identify budget lines directly linked to biodiversity. What we did identify were environmental programs, such as environmental education and biodiversity conservation,” he noted.
The analyst advocated for the need to lobby the government to increase funding for the environmental sector in order to achieve the results required by the country’s international commitments.
Aristófanes Pontes also emphasized that the funds made available during that period came primarily from the General State Budget, and that the UNDP now also intends to assess what the private sector has been doing.
He added that this discussion will also draw on ABANC’s input to identify and overcome technical constraints, regulatory challenges, and obstacles to mobilizing financial resources.
“We want to have access to information from the private sector and see what the private sector has actually been doing in the area of biodiversity, but we already realize that it is not much, because what has been done consists mostly of projects funded by external and international sources,” he said.
The UNDP official emphasized the need for an assessment of what already exists in terms of biodiversity, what can be improved, and to identify the various possible sources of funding, with a view to drafting a concise document and ensuring disciplined management of these funds.
“Right now, specifically regarding biodiversity, we are conducting an assessment of existing legislation—its current status, the sectors directly linked to biodiversity, those that benefit from it and work with it—as well as what has already been spent, how it was spent, what is still needed, and what must be done,” he explained.
The document is expected to be completed in 2027, enabling the country to determine its resource needs for biodiversity through 2030, he added.
Aristófanes Pontes also pointed out that there are many areas in need of funding, emphasizing that a large portion of conservation areas lack effective management due to a shortage of resources.
For his part, Abanc President Mário Nascimento stated that challenges remain for sustainable financing, requiring a joint effort by the central bank and the Angolan government.
Mário Nascimento revealed that an institutional team led by the Ministry of Finance—which also includes the Ministry of Planning and the National Bank of Angola—has been established to create the necessary framework for sustainable financing, based on six pillars.
He added that this discussion will also draw on ABANC’s input to identify and overcome technical constraints, regulatory challenges, and obstacles to mobilizing financial resources.
Source: Jornal Mercado
