This report has been developed under the OECD Environment Policy Committee and its Working Party on Biodiversity, Water and Ecosystems, as part of its 2025-26 Programme of Work. It complements and draws on discussions from an OECD International Workshop on Mobilising Public and Private Finance for Biodiversity, convened on 16 May 2025. The report and workshop contribute to a broader project funded by the European Union’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI), which supports countries in the development and implementation of national biodiversity finance plans.
This report is intended primarily as a reference for policy makers and public finance institutions, while also being relevant to financial actors and conservation practitioners involved in the design and scaling of biodiversity finance approaches. It has two main objectives: 1) to map and assess biodiversity financing instruments and mechanisms, including their current use; 2) to provide actionable recommendations to help policy makers and public finance institutions strengthen the uptake, design and effectiveness of these instruments and mechanisms.
The report adopts a primarily instrument-focused approach, examining specific financing tools and mechanisms that can support biodiversity objectives. At the same time, it recognises that the effectiveness of these instruments depends on broader enabling conditions, including coherent regulatory and policy frameworks, biodiversity data and metrics, and investable project pipelines. These cross-cutting factors are therefore also discussed, where they are critical to understanding how financing instruments can be deployed effectively and at scale.
Complementary work on “Scaling Up Private Action for Nature: Opportunities for Development Co-operation and Finance” has been developed in parallel by the Development Co-operation Directorate, through collaboration and led by a collaboration between ENVIRONET and COP-PF4SD. It focuses on how development co-operation can scale private action for biodiversity by strengthening enabling environments, promoting private sector engagement and mobilising private finance in developing countries.
Another OECD forthcoming 2026 report provides a global estimate of public and private finance for biodiversity (from both domestic and international sources).