The African Development Bank Group is seeking stronger financial and institutional support for biodiversity protection across Africa as governments and development partners gather in Yerevan, Armenia, from October 19 to 30 for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17). The Bank plans to use the global meeting to advance investment in ecosystem restoration, nature-based solutions and natural capital, reflecting growing recognition that biodiversity loss carries economic consequences for African countries whose food systems, water supplies, livelihoods and climate resilience depend on functioning ecosystems.
According to the Bank’s announcement, its delegation will engage with African governments, development partners, private sector representatives and other multilateral development banks on ways to mobilise finance and strengthen implementation of national biodiversity commitments. The discussions come as countries prepare for the first global review of progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, which sets international targets for halting and reversing biodiversity loss.
For Africa, the challenge extends beyond agreeing on conservation objectives. Governments must translate biodiversity strategies into funded programmes, viable projects and public investment decisions while balancing competing demands for infrastructure, energy, agriculture and employment. The availability and structure of financing will help determine whether biodiversity commitments can be implemented at scale or remain constrained by limited institutional capacity and fiscal resources.
The African Development Bank said its COP17 engagement will focus on nature-based solutions, ecosystem restoration, natural capital accounting and innovative financing mechanisms. These areas connect environmental protection with decisions that shape economic development, including how public authorities assess the value of forests, wetlands, coastal ecosystems and other natural assets when allocating resources and planning infrastructure.
Natural capital accounting can help governments incorporate the economic contribution of ecosystems into national planning and investment assessments. Forests, for example, support water regulation, agricultural productivity and carbon storage, while wetlands and coastal ecosystems can provide flood protection and sustain fisheries. When these services are not adequately reflected in economic decisions, projects that generate immediate financial returns may take precedence over the long-term benefits of maintaining healthy ecosystems.
The financial implications are significant for countries already managing pressure on public budgets. Environmental degradation can increase the cost of water management, undermine agricultural production and expose communities and infrastructure to greater climate risks. Integrating natural capital into economic planning could help governments identify these costs earlier, although the approach depends on reliable data, technical capacity and the ability to incorporate environmental assessments into actual budget and investment decisions.
Financing remains a central obstacle. Biodiversity protection and restoration often generate benefits over long periods, while their economic returns may not be easily captured by the organisations expected to fund them. This can make projects difficult to finance through conventional commercial lending, particularly where revenue streams are uncertain or benefits accrue across entire communities rather than to a single investor.
The Bank’s planned discussions on innovative financing therefore have implications for how African countries structure investments in protected areas, landscape restoration and nature-positive businesses. Potential approaches include blended finance, in which public or concessional capital helps mobilise private investment, and financial instruments designed around the long-term management of natural assets. Their suitability will depend on project economics, regulatory frameworks and the distribution of risks and benefits.
One of the Bank’s scheduled COP17 engagements will examine the use of park bonds to mobilise capital for protected areas in West Africa. The discussion, planned for October 20, places capital-market financing among the options being considered for biodiversity conservation. Such instruments would need credible revenue arrangements, transparent governance and clear accountability for conservation outcomes to attract investors without placing unsustainable financial obligations on public authorities or local communities.
The Bank will also convene discussions on blended finance for Africa’s nature-positive bioeconomy. This agenda connects biodiversity with economic activities that rely on sustainable use of natural resources, including forest-based products, agriculture and other forms of ecosystem-linked production. The central development question is whether investment can support local businesses, employment and value addition while maintaining the ecological systems on which these activities depend.
For many African communities, biodiversity is closely linked to everyday economic security. Farmers depend on soil health, pollination and reliable water supplies, while fishing communities rely on functioning freshwater and marine ecosystems. Where natural resources deteriorate, households and local businesses may face lower productivity, higher costs and fewer income opportunities. Conservation financing that does not account for these economic relationships risks overlooking the communities whose participation is necessary for long-term ecosystem management.
The design of financing mechanisms will consequently matter as much as the amount of capital mobilised. Protected-area investments, restoration programmes and nature-based enterprises require clear land and resource rights, effective consultation and transparent benefit-sharing arrangements. Governments also need monitoring systems capable of demonstrating whether financing is producing measurable environmental outcomes. Without these safeguards, investment can create disputes over access to land and resources or direct benefits away from the people most affected by conservation decisions.
The African Development Bank’s participation will also include coordination with other multilateral development banks through a joint pavilion at COP17. This provides a platform to discuss how development finance institutions can align their operations with biodiversity objectives and support countries implementing their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. Greater coordination could help reduce fragmentation between environmental programmes and wider development investments, although financing commitments and implementation responsibilities will need to be clearly defined.
The first global review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework gives the conference added significance. The review is intended to assess progress towards international biodiversity commitments and identify areas where implementation and financing support need to improve. For African countries, the process offers an opportunity to press for funding arrangements that reflect the costs of implementing national plans and the development pressures facing economies rich in natural resources.
However, participation in international negotiations does not itself guarantee new funding. The effectiveness of COP17 will depend in part on whether discussions lead to accessible financing, stronger project pipelines and practical support for national institutions. Countries will need the technical capacity to prepare investable projects, assess environmental risks and demonstrate results, while financial institutions must determine how biodiversity objectives can be incorporated into lending and investment decisions.
The African Development Bank’s agenda places biodiversity within a broader development-finance debate: how African economies can create jobs, expand productive capacity and improve public services without undermining the natural systems that support those objectives. The task is not simply to secure more funding for conservation, but to make biodiversity considerations relevant to decisions on agriculture, infrastructure, finance and industrial development.
As COP17 opens, the central test for African governments and their development partners will be whether biodiversity commitments can be converted into financing and implementation arrangements that work at country and community level. That will require sustained investment, credible institutions and transparent accountability, alongside economic planning that recognises the contribution of natural assets to long-term growth and resilience.
For Africa, the outcome will matter not only for species and protected areas, but also for the stability of food systems, the management of water resources, the resilience of infrastructure and the livelihoods supported by the continent’s ecosystems. The Bank’s engagement at COP17 places those economic connections at the centre of the debate over how biodiversity protection can be financed and implemented.
