Grant-making by private philanthropic foundations in support of biodiversity-related areas is increasing. In 2017, philanthropies provided USD 501 million, while it was almost USD 1 billion in 2021. In 2022, however, philanthropic grants for biodiversity goals fell back to USD 700 million, which was still an increase of 40% compared to 2017 (Figure 6.1). Overall, private philanthropies provided USD 665 million on average over 2017-22 and are important actors in sectors such as general environment protection, including biodiversity conservation, agriculture and fishing (60%, 13% and 9% of their total contributions to biodiversity, respectively).
Biodiversity and Development Finance 2015-2022
Contributing to Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
2015-22, USD million, full values
Note: Out of the 47 foundations that have been reporting to the OECD, 40 supported biodiversity-related activities.
Source: Authors’ estimates based on OECD-DAC statistics from OECD (2024[1]), Creditor Reporting System (database), https://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/c.
The origin of philanthropic contributions for biodiversity is highly concentrated. Of the 40 foundations included in the OECD database that reported on biodiversity-related activities, Bezos Earth Fund, the Postcode Lottery Group, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation were the most significant donors, providing 51% of the total biodiversity-related philanthropic giving over the period 2017-22, while 81% was provided by only 10 foundations (Figure 6.2).
In relative terms, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the MAVA Foundation and the Arcadia Fund show the strongest focus on biodiversity, allocating more than two-thirds of their annual grant-making to the conservation of nature and related aspects. Box 6.1 provides an overview of private philanthropy in the context of development and biodiversity, exploring the overall coverage of biodiversity-related philanthropic flows and highlighting the gaps (and opportunities) towards a fuller philanthropic picture for biodiversity.
2017-22 annual average, USD million, full values
Notes: Finance provided by Bezos Earth Fund was based on 2020-22 due to data availability. Going forward, the analysis will take into consideration the MAVA Foundation’s closure in 2022. The Postcode Lottery Group reflects contributions from the Dutch Postcode Lottery, German Postcode Lottery, Norwegian Postcode Lottery, People’s Postcode Lottery and the Swedish Postcode Lottery.
Source: Authors’ estimates based on OECD-DAC statistics from OECD (2024[1]), Creditor Reporting System (database), https://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/c.
Private philanthropies play an important role in the context of development and biodiversity. This is reflected, for example, by their increasing participation in the Conferences of the Parties (COPs) of the Rio Conventions and engagement in international fora, as well as through their commitments [e.g. Protecting Our Planet Challenge (POP, n.d.[2]), Climate and Land Use Alliance (Climate and Land Use Alliance, 2024[3]), IPLC Forest Tenure Pledge (Land Portal, 2023[4])]. Thanks to their flexible mission statements and funding models, contributions made by private philanthropies can be unique and largely complementary to those made by other stakeholders. Using their networks and access to local and international actors, they can leverage their comparative advantage to promote innovation for greater impact. They can also support novel approaches that can mobilise commercial capital, whether through providing seed capital or de-risking other actors’ investments (e.g. they can absorb first losses in collective investment vehicles or enterprises).
To promote transparency of development finance and evidence-based policies, 47 of the largest private philanthropic foundations have been reporting their data on development-related grants and programme/mission-related investments to the OECD. While the coverage of this dataset could be considered comprehensive, it is hard to provide an evidence-based estimation of data gaps due to a lack of alternative sources. Still, the following non-reporting philanthropies are known to provide resources for the conservation of nature in developing countries, with annual giving combined fluctuating at around USD 100 million:
Marisla Foundation. Out of its annual grant making for biodiversity, approximately USD 10-15 million is estimated to be allocated to developing countries.
Rob Walton Foundation. Working with renowned international conservation organisations, the foundation provided over USD 30 million in 2022, most notably to the African Parks Foundation for the rehabilitation and long-term management of protected areas in Africa.
Walton Family Foundation. As part of its priority funding areas, the foundation promotes biodiversity conservation and sustainable fishing practices and other nature-related causes in developing countries. In 2018, its grant making for nature conservation in developing countries exceeded USD 30 million.
Wyss Foundation. Working to preserve nature across the world, the foundation is estimated to have given more than USD 50 million for projects in developing countries in 2022. For example, during that year, it provided a USD 14.3 million grant to the African Parks Foundation to protect natural habitats on behalf of local governments and USD 11.5 million to the Andes Amazon Fund to permanently protect threatened and important intact forests.
Overall, continued efforts are needed to build transparency in this area and foster visibility in the contributions of all stakeholders in the domain of biodiversity conservation, including private philanthropic foundations. The availability of ready-to-use evidence is key to learning, setting multi‑stakeholder collaboratives, and designing effective policies for the people and nature.
Source: Authors’ research.
Philanthropic foundations mostly provided biodiversity-related funding to middle-income countries (78% of the philanthropy total), such as Indonesia, Brazil, India, Kenya, India, Peru and Colombia (together accounting for 44% of the total without considering unspecified allocations). The remaining 22% of the country-allocable funding targeted least developed countries, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. Overall, the most targeted regions were Africa (42%) followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (33%) and Asia (22%). About USD 429 million of total biodiversity-related finance falls under the multi-regional or unspecified allocation categories (15% or 49%, respectively), yet still targets developing countries.
In addition, almost all philanthropic contributions (76%) were implemented through non‑governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society and international NGOs in particular (such as the Worldwide Wildlife Fund, ClimateWorks Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, or Fauna and Flora International), followed by academia or research institutes (13%). Public-private partnerships and networks were also used to deliver investments towards biodiversity-related contributions (5%). For instance, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has worked with the World Economic Forum to support the Tropical Forest Alliance in its efforts to advance deforestation and conservation-free commitments and commodities through private sector leadership and policy reform in South America (i.e. Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay) (Moore, 2022[5]). Another example is the MAVA Foundation’s small grants programme in the Balkans (e.g. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia) to support partners’ capacities (e.g. Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund) and promote ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation. In particular, from 2016 to 2022 (MAVA’s closure), the MAVA Foundation focused on investing in strategic partnerships (MAVA & FOS, 2021[6]), by connecting projects and partners, to ensure the sustainability of conservation actions.
Private philanthropies are also helping to strengthen habitat protection, ecological connectivity and public recreation, through land acquisition, easements and facilitating wildlife movement, further helping countries to achieve Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of protecting at least 30% of global land and ocean by 2030 (the 30X30 target) (CBD, 2022[7]). For instance, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has provided a grant to establish the Global Conservation Fund, designed to create and expand protected areas – e.g. national parks, privately-owned lands, community-managed reserves – and combining conservation with responsible nature use and development while helping to establish sustainable financing mechanisms to create a steady flow of funds for their effective management (Conservation International, 2023[8]). In collaboration with Conservation International and a global network of about 80 partners across at least 45 countries, until the Global Conservation Fund initiative ended, it had helped create or expand 135 protected areas, leveraging USD 259 million in funds from partners, creating jobs and helping to conserve the habitat of globally threatened species (GEF, 2017[9]). In addition, the Bezos Earth Fund, through coalitions of NGOs, governments and local partners, is also supporting initiatives to deliver the 30X30 target by helping to create, expand and strengthen the management of protected areas (Bezos Earth Fund, 2024[10]). For example, the fund has partnered with Re:Wild to support the establishment of a transnational marine protected area, including waters of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama (Bezos Earth Fund, 2022[11]), as well as partnering with the Jane Goodall Institute with the aim of creating and reinforcing new community-managed protected areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, while supporting the preservation of cultural integrity and environmental value of the Congo Basin rainforest (Bezos Earth Fund, 2023[12]).
References
[10] Bezos Earth Fund (2024), Protecting 30% of the Planet by 2030, https://www.bezosearthfund.org/ideas/protecting-30-of-the-planet-by-2030 (accessed on 15 July 2024).
[12] Bezos Earth Fund (2023), Scaling Protected Areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, https://www.bezosearthfund.org/grants/scaling-protected-areas-congo-basin-jane-goodall-institute (accessed on 15 July 2024).
[11] Bezos Earth Fund (2022), Creating the Largest Multi-country Marine Protected Area in the World, https://www.bezosearthfund.org/grants/creating-largest-multicountry-marine-protected-area-world (accessed on 15 July 2024).
[7] CBD (2022), Target 3: Conserve 30% of Land, Waters and Seas, https://www.cbd.int/gbf/targets/3 (accessed on 15 July 2024).
[3] Climate and Land Use Alliance (2024), Climate and Land Use Alliance, https://www.climateandlandusealliance.org/.
[8] Conservation International (2023), Global Conservation Fund: Ensuring the permanent protection of the natural areas most essential to human well-being through innovative financing solutions, https://www.conservation.org/about/global-conservation-fund (accessed on 15 July 2024).
[9] GEF (2017), Global Conservation Fund: World-Changing Impacts, 2001-2016, https://www.thegef.org/sites/default/files/publications/GCF%20Moore%20Report%20Exec%20Summary_FINAL4-17.pdf (accessed on 15 July 2024).
[4] Land Portal (2023), Donor Pledge to Advance Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ Tenure Rights and their Forest Guardianship, https://landportal.org/iplc/forest-tenure-donor-pledge.
[6] MAVA & FOS (2021), Strategic Partnerships: MAVA’s approach to scaling up conservation impact, https://mava-foundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/mava_strategic_partnerships_booksprint-010721-1..pdf (accessed on 4 March 2024).
[5] Moore (2022), Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, https://www.moore.org/grant-detail?grantId=GBMF11074 (accessed on 4 March 2024).
[1] OECD (2024), OECD DAC Creditor Reporting System Statistics, OECD.Stat, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/c.
[2] POP (n.d.), Protecting Our Planet Challenge, https://www.protectingourplanetchallenge.org/.