Global biodiversity and climate projects secure £100m UK aid boost
UK aid from the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund earmarked for six projects in fragile ecosystems around the world
The UK government is to funnel more than £100 funding into community projects in fragile ecosystems around the world to support the protection and restoration of biodiversity and combat climate change through nature-based solutions, it announced on Wednesday.
The funding, which forms part of the government’s Biodiverse Landscapes Fund, is to be shared across six landscapes which are each home to rare and endangered species, including across the southern belt of Africa, Madagascar, East Asia and South and Central America, it said.
Species such as elephants, rhinos, mountain gorillas, tigers and jaguars rely on diverse ecosystems and habitats ranging from rainforests, wetlands, temperate forests and mangroves, and by protecting these landscapes the funding aims to safeguard biodiversity as well as supporting climate action, it explained.
Starting from 2022, the government said the funding would be invested over seven years in local projects in these regions that support the protection and restoration of landscapes through nature-based solutions, while also providing sustainable livelihoods for local communities.
The projects aim to support activities such as sustainable agricultural practices, promoting natural resource management and strengthening indigenous people’s rights to sustainably manage their lands, it explained.
Announcing the funding this week, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the global population of animals was “plummeting faster than at any time in human history and precious habitats and species are being wiped off our planet”.
“We are at a tipping point, and we must act now – right now – to turn the tide of this environmental crisis before it is too late,” he said. “Our Biodiverse Landscapes Fund will invest in six of the most environmentally critical landscapes, spanning 18 countries across the globe, to help to combat climate change and protect rare and endangered species.”
The funding, which comes from the UK’s overseas aid budget, is aimed at supporting the government’s pledge, as part of the G7, to protect and conserve 30 per cent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030, a target which is now supported by more than 100 countries around the world.
However, the government has faced widespread criticism for cutting back on its international aid commitments this year, amid concerns that the decision undermines the UK’s credibility as hosts of the upcoming COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, at which international climate finance is set to be a major bone of contention.
But International Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith insisted the funding was “part of a package of far-reaching and ambitious programmes we are launching ahead of the crucial Glasgow COP26 climate summit”.
“The UK government is leading the way in tackling biodiversity loss and combatting climate change, and will be encouraging other countries to follow suit by coming forward with funding for nature,” he said. “There is no pathway to tackling climate change that does not involve the recovery of nature.”
