Why in the News?
In October 2025, seven countries, Cook Islands, Madagascar, Mexico, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Uganda, secured $5.8 million in grants from the Kunming Biodiversity Fund (KBF) to promote nature-friendly agriculture.
What is Kunming Biodiversity Fund (KBF)?
- Objective: To assist developing nations in implementing the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), aimed at halting biodiversity loss by 2030 and restoring ecosystems by 2050.
- Overview: Established in 2021 during Part 1 of COP-15 at Kunming, China, under China’s presidency of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
- Initial Contribution: China pledged 1.5 billion yuan (~USD 200 million) as seed funding.
- Administration: Managed by China’s Ministry of Ecology & Environment, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the CBD Secretariat; functions as a Multi-Partner Trust Fund with UNDP and others.
- Focus Areas:
- Support for National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).
- Ecosystem restoration, invasive-species control, and sustainable agriculture.
- Empowerment of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in conservation.
- 2025 Allocation: Released USD 5.8 million via FAO to Cook Islands, Madagascar, Mexico, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Türkiye, and Uganda for biodiversity-linked agriculture and resilience projects.
- Alignment: Advances KMGBF Target 19 (mobilising USD 200 billion per year by 2030) and helps bridge the USD 700 billion annual global biodiversity finance gap.
- Global Significance: Serves as a cornerstone of biodiversity finance, complementing the GEF, Green Climate Fund, and Cali Fund (2025) to mobilise global conservation resources.
India and the KBF:
- Funding Status: As of 2025, India has not yet received direct KBF funding but remains eligible as a biodiversity-rich developing country and active CBD Party.
- National Alignment: India’s National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP), National Biodiversity Mission, and Green India Mission align with KBF priorities, especially ecosystem restoration, biodiversity mainstreaming, and community participation.
| [UPSC 2023] Consider the following statements:
1. In India, the Biodiversity Management Committees are key to the realization of the objectives of the Nagoya Protocol. 2. The Biodiversity Management Committees have important functions in determining acces and benefit sharing, including the power to levy collection fees on the access of biological resources within its jurisdiction. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? Options: (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2* (d) Neither 1 nor 2 |
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