Biodiversity and Development Finance 2015-2022

5. South-South and triangular co‑operation and other bilateral providers and biodiversity

Funding for biodiversity-related activities from bilateral providers beyond the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) membership, including South-South and triangular co-operation (“South-South”) providers, amounted to USD 28 million annually on average over 2018-22, the years when most information on these providers is included in the OECD database. These volumes are driven mainly by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and Kazakhstan [which report to the Creditor Reporting System (CRS) and/or Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD)]. Data available over these years indicate that contributions fluctuated over this period, from USD 40.2 million in 2018 to USD 26.9 million in 2021 and USD 30 million in 2022, increasing by 11% in 2022 compared to 2021 (Figure 5.1), and mostly targeting activities related to general environmental protection (38%) and agriculture (31%), followed by fishing (9%) and government, policies and regulations (8%).

It is important to highlight that not all providers of South-South co-operation report to the CRS or TOSSD [e.g. Argentina, the People’s Republic of China (hereafter “China”), Colombia, India or South Africa]. This lack of reporting indicates a data gap, suggesting that the figures currently available likely underestimate the contributions to biodiversity-related development finance.

Overall, in terms of regional co-operation, most financing was directed to Africa (62%), followed by Asia (31%) then Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC; 5%) over 2018-22. The top 10 recipients account for 87% of the total estimated development finance for biodiversity (of which 37% is allocated to Egypt and 18% to China). Of these, only China and Ethiopia overlap with the main recipients of DAC and multilateral providers, highlighting the complementary role and distinctive geographical outreach of these players.

Figure 5.1. Development finance for biodiversity from bilateral providers beyond the DAC

2015-22, USD million, full values

Notes: Non-DAC countries include Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia (until 2020 inclusive), Israel, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania (until 2022), Malta, Monaco, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates. These flows are recorded in the Creditor Reporting System. South-South and triangular co-operation providers (South-South) include Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Peru, whose flows were reported through the TOSSD framework. Given that some countries report to both the CRS and TOSSD databases, attention was paid to avoid double counting.

Source: Authors’ estimates based on OECD-DAC statistics from OECD (2024[1]), Creditor Reporting System (database), https://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/c and on Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (database) from TOSSD (2024[2]), https://www.tossd.org.

In addition, most contributions were implemented through public sector institutions (64%) both from provider governments (e.g. ministries of agriculture, fisheries, environment and natural resources, and international development co-operation agencies) and recipient governments (e.g. central governments, municipalities, public schools and universities), followed by multilateral organisations (20%, of which 40% corresponds to United Nations agencies, funds or commissions), and non-governmental organisations and civil society (10%) (e.g. Sahara Conservation Fund, Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources, ECOTOP Foundation, Aves Argentina, International Union for the Conservation of Nature).

Moreover, some providers also have specific agencies dedicated to preserving natural heritage and protecting species, such as the United Arab Emirate’s Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, 2024[3]) that provides small grants (maximum of USD 25 000 per project) for individual species conservation initiatives (e.g. for black-faced lion, golden-bellied mangabey, Indochinese flying squirrel, Sunda pangolin, Wolkberg Zulu). Another example concerns Saudi Arabia where the Saudi Fund for Development focuses on preserving the environment and public health, such as finance provided to China for the environmental protection and sustainable development of wetlands around Hwange Lake (SFD, 2022[4]).

It is important to note that South-South co-operation, which inherently aims to strengthen capacities and address common problems among partners, also plays a crucial and complementary role to financial assistance by exchanging good practices and technical knowledge, providing technical assistance, and enhancing capacity development, based on a shared vision on principles and values about common goals, prioritising people and the planet. As such, many of their contributions are not necessarily reflected in monetary terms yet contribute greatly to the promotion of practices to reduce biodiversity loss and strengthen the sustainable use of natural resources. For example, Mexico and Peru are contributing to the development of forest monitoring systems through the exchange of technical knowledge, experiences and good practices based on forest inventories and satellite systems (APCI, 2021[5]) while Chile is exchanging experiences and knowledge regarding mineral extractive systems with Argentina to support Argentina in understanding control processes and the use of environmental management plans, as well as the negative impacts from open-pit mining and how to overcome them (AGCID, 2021[6]). Brazil is co-operating with Senegal by exchanging experiences and challenges on agroecological production – including pest and disease controls and water management – as well as on technical knowledge and training regarding organic certification and market development (ABC, 2019[7]). Other initiatives may also involve the development of alliances or the participation of several partners, as is the case of triangular co-operation initiatives (Box 5.1).

Box 5.1. The potential of triangular co-operation to address environmental issues

Triangular co-operation reflects the participation of different stakeholders (e.g. countries, international organisations, civil society, the private sector, private philanthropy) working together to address common challenges such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), biodiversity loss, climate change and ocean protection. In terms of implementation, triangular initiatives can be characterised by a facilitating partner that provides financial and technical support, while at least two other partners provide know-how and capacity development in support of a partner that seeks to tackle a specific development challenge. An example of this is the exchange of experiences among Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Honduras to strengthen and create structures and public policies dedicated to the management, conservation and restoration of coral reefs (e.g. gardening, nurseries and micro-fragmentation techniques) in which Germany, through GIZ’s Regional Fund for Triangular Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean is the facilitating partner (GIZ, 2022[8]), and Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic serve as pivotal partners to support Honduras (Estrategia Nacional de Biodiversidad, 2019[9]).

Indeed, triangular co-operation demonstrates significant potential to address environmental issues, particularly when integrated with decentralised co-operation (SEGIB, 2023[10]). This integration can be important given the specific characteristics of the environmental sector and its local impacts, which may require the strengthening of multiple stakeholders and alliances. In particular, triangular co-operation initiatives for biodiversity in Ibero-America have been increasing through time, and the protection and conservation of the environment is the sector with the highest priority within this modality (SEGIB, 2023[11]). The prominence of environmental initiatives in triangular co-operation underscores its potential and reflects its underlying principles to address shared problems.

At the Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Co-operation held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2019 (i.e. BAPA +40), the global development community reiterated its commitment to promote South-South and triangular co-operation as a means to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN, 2019[12]), recognising the need to foster horizontal partnerships, co-create solutions, share knowledge and expertise, and scale up resources. Indeed, the upcoming International Meeting on Triangular Co-operation to be held in October 2024 in Lisbon can provide an opportunity to raise awareness on the need to protect our environment and promote the sustainable use and management of natural resources, and how triangular co-operation can best support this.

In addition, Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) is working to reflect the engagement of different stakeholders in triangular co-operation. TOSSD collects data on this framework of collaboration: for 2022, TOSSD collected triangular co-operation activities from 22 providers, including traditional and South-South co-operation providers, as well as international organisations. The International Forum on TOSSD also showcases triangular co-operation data through infographics and data stories (e.g. in the Philippines, SDG 15 concentrated most of the South-South and triangular co- operation flows) (TOSSD, 2022[13]).

References

[7] ABC (2019), Especialistas senegaleses conhecem práticas agroecológicas no Brasil, https://www.gov.br/abc/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/especialistas-senegaleses-conhecem-praticas-agroecologicas-no-brasil (accessed on 3 July 2024).

[6] AGCID (2021), Resolucion de Proyecto de Cooperacion Descentralizada: “Transferencia de conocimientos en procesos de control y fiscalización minera de yacimientos metalíferos, para ser aplicados en la Región de La Puna, en la Provincia de Salta”, https://www.agci.cl/gobiernotransparente/documentos/Res_ex_237_2021.pdf (accessed on 15 July 2024).

[5] APCI (2021), Situación y Tendencias de la Cooperación Técnica Internacional en el Perú 2021, https://perusostenible.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Situacio%CC%81n-y-Tendencias-de-la-Cooperacio%CC%81n-Te%CC%81cnica-Internacional-en-el-Peru%CC%81-2021.pdf.

[9] Estrategia Nacional de Biodiversidad (2019), Aplicación de herramientas innovadoras para la conservación y restauración de arrecifes de coral en Honduras. Propuesta de proyecto Fondo Regional para la Cooperación Triangular en América Latina y el Caribe, https://enbcr.go.cr/sites/default/files/verificador_m15_proyecto_triangular_.pdf (accessed on 1 July 2024).

[8] GIZ (2022), Regional Fund for Triangular Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean, https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/12942.html (accessed on 17 June 2024).

[3] Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (2024), Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, https://www.speciesconservation.org/ (accessed on 17 June 2024).

[1] OECD (2024), OECD DAC Creditor Reporting System Statistics, OECD.Stat, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/c.

[11] SEGIB (2023), Informe de la Cooperación Sur-Sur y Triangular en Iberoamérica 2022, https://informesursur.org/es/report/informe-de-la-cooperacion-sur-sur-y-triangular-en-iberoamerica-2022/ (accessed on 20 August 2024).

[10] SEGIB (2023), Una Cooperación Triangular innovadora para una nueva Agenda de Desarrollo, Secretaría General Iberoamericana, https://www.segib.org/wp-content/uploads/Publicacion-Final-CT_ESP-V9-7-2-2023-web_Es.pdf (accessed on 25 July 2024).

[4] SFD (2022), Annual Report 2022, https://www.sfd.gov.sa/sites/default/files/annual-report-pdfs/AnnualReport_2022_EN.pdf (accessed on 15 July 2024).

[2] TOSSD (2024), Total Official Support for Sustainable Development, https://www.tossd.org/.

[13] TOSSD (2022), More than 4500 South-South co-operation activities in TOSSD. What do the data tell us?, https://www.tossd.org/pilot-studies-data-stories/tossd-south-south-cooperation.htm (accessed on 24 June 2024).

[12] UN (2019), Buenos Aires outcome document of the second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation, https://www.unsouthsouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/N1911172.pdf (accessed on 10 July 2024).