IDB-ECLAC Study: Latin America and the Caribbean Needs $170 Billion Annually to Conserve Biodiversity

WASHINGTON — Latin America and the Caribbean needs approximately $170 billion annually to conserve its biodiversity and restore its ecosystems, according to a new study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). At current financing flows, the estimated annual financing gap is nearly $153 billion, equivalent to approximately 2.1% of regional GDP.

The new joint report, The Biodiversity Financing Gap in Latin America and the Caribbean: Needs, Flows, and Mobilization Strategies Toward 2030, provides the first comprehensive regional estimate of the financing needed to conserve, restore, and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystem services across the region. The study finds that current financing flows for biodiversity in the region amount to only about $17 billion per year. 

The report emphasizes that biodiversity financing should be viewed as an economic development agenda rather than solely an environmental one. Biodiversity loss threatens productivity, water availability, public finances, exports, investment opportunities, and economic stability throughout the region. At the same time, investments in natural capital can generate jobs, strengthen resilience, increase competitiveness, and attract private investment. Closing the biodiversity financing gap depends on improving the efficiency of existing spending, reforming incentives harmful to biodiversity, strengthening public financing, expanding private-sector participation, and scaling innovative financial instruments and mechanisms. 

According to the report, an ambitious transformation scenario could reduce the financing gap by approximately 74% by 2030 through the combined mobilization of public resources, private capital, innovative financial tools, and redirected subsidies.

“Latin America and the Caribbean has a unique opportunity to become a global leader in nature finance. The region’s biodiversity sustains communities, supports economic activity, and underpins the region’s resilience to climate and environmental shocks,” said Gregory Watson, Chief of the Biodiversity and Natural Capital Unit at the IDB. “The challenge ahead is to align planning, investment, and economic incentives with conservation outcomes, ensuring that nature continues to generate benefits for current and future generations. Closing the biodiversity financing gap is therefore not only an environmental imperative, but a development opportunity for the region,” he added. 

Angela Maria Penagos Concha, Director of the ECLAC Office in Bogotá and Additional Supervisor of the Water and Biodiversity Unit, added: “Latin America and the Caribbean is home to some of the planet’s greatest natural wealth, which sustains its productive development and is key to overcoming the development traps it faces. Yet, current financing flows cover barely one-tenth of the estimated needs for biodiversity conservation, restoration, and sustainable use. Nearly 60% of these needs are associated with the transition toward more sustainable agriculture and livestock. Given the region’s fiscal constraints, closing this gap will require better use of existing resources and additional financing, making nature a driver of the productive transformation needed to reduce inequalities and move toward a more sustainable development model.” 

The report argues that with the right mix of public policies, institutional strengthening, private investment, and international cooperation, the region can conserve and protect its natural capital while simultaneously leveraging it as a powerful engine for sustainable development.

The study was developed jointly by the IDB and ECLAC and is being released as countries advance implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and seek to accelerate resource mobilization for biodiversity worldwide.