How the GEF is helping the world meet its biodiversity goals

As the world reaches the halfway mark on the journey to achieve global biodiversity targets, the first global review of collective progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) is being considered at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s subsidiary body meetings — SBSTTA-28 and SBI-7, according to a press release by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The gatherings are taking place in Nairobi, Kenya over the last week of July and the first weeks of August. Delegates are reviewing where the world stands with respect to the ambitious targets. The review indicates significant action is underway to protect, restore, and sustainably use nature. However, the pace and scale of implementation must accelerate for the goals to be met.

The GEF serves as the financial mechanism for six multilateral conventions, supporting countries’ efforts to tackle the root causes of environmental degradation. It has invested more than $5.2 billion to conserve biodiversity and use it sustainably. This investment has leveraged over $13.4 billion in additional funds, supporting 1,500 projects in more than 158 countries. The support has improved management of more than 2.5 billion hectares of terrestrial and marine protected areas globally, an area larger than the size of Latin America. It has also helped countries sustainably manage biodiversity across more than 543 million hectares of productive landscapes and seascapes.

The GEF has mobilized resources for implementation of all 23 targets of the KMGBF, focusing on large-scale conservation and restoration work. From July 2022 to June 2025, GEF-supported projects created 170 million hectares of new protected areas and improved the managed effectiveness of another 170 million hectares. A further 25.5 million hectares are now under active ecosystem restoration. These results are being amplified by GEF-8’s eleven Integrated Programs, collectively accounting for $1.64 billion in GEF financing. The Critical Forest Biomes Integrated Program will bring over 97 million hectares of Amazon protected areas under improved management.

The GEF Trust Fund remains the backbone of this effort, with $1.92 billion allocated to the GEF-8 biodiversity focal area and more coming in GEF-9. Notably, 72 percent of all GEF-8 Trust Fund programming across focal areas contributes to biodiversity objectives, surpassing the 60 percent target set by the GEF Council. Since launching in August 2023, the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) has programmed more than $362 million across 87 countries through five competitive selection rounds.

“Meeting the KMGBF’s 2030 targets requires not just more money, but money that reaches the right places in time,” said Claude Gascon, Interim CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility.

Close to 39 percent of GBFF resources benefit Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.

The GEF-8 Umbrella Program for National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) Updates and Seventh National Reports is a $78.5 million investment covering 139 countries, implemented by UNEP and UNDP. It provides $450,000 per country for NBSAP revision, national reporting, and monitoring system alignment. A joint acceleration plan adopted in September 2025 by UNEP, UNDP, the CBD Secretariat, and the GEF Secretariat is driving momentum. The Nairobi meetings will shape what countries ask of each other as they head toward COP17 in Yerevan. The GEF’s $3.9 billion replenishment, including 70 percent to be aligned with biodiversity objectives, arrives as a reformed and re-engineered financing partner.