By Trend

Georgia explores new opportunities to enhance financial management for biodiversity, forestry and agriculture, Trend reports via Georgian media.

Ten initiatives, covering energy efficiency, forestry, eco-tourism and sustainable agriculture, were presented at a fund-raising forum for international and private sector partners.

The event was organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) as part of BIOFIN, a global initiative launched in response to the urgent need to channel more funding into biodiversity protection.

Georgia is among the first 30 countries to launch a national BIOFIN process aimed at closing funding gaps in biodiversity conservation, mobilizing the resources needed to develop, implementing biodiversity policies, and carrying out practical steps in the energy, agriculture and other sectors.

In 2020, in partnership with MEPA’s Biodiversity and Forestry Department, the National Forestry Agency and the Agency of Protected Areas, UNDP identified over 40 projects to address urgent biodiversity issues, including energy efficiency in the public sector, eco-tourism, forest management, certification for non-timber forest products, and the sustainable management of natural resources in protected areas.

Since the launch of BIOFIN in 2016, Georgia’s state funding allocated for biodiversity conservation has grown 24-fold.