• The Global Environment Facility (GEF) will launch biodiversity bonds to raise up to $1.5 billion for Africa’s threatened species.

• The bonds link repayments to conservation outcomes, reducing repayment burdens if targets like anti-poaching succeed.

• This off-balance-sheet funding attracts private investors amid shrinking public budgets and donor withdrawals.

Facing a drop in public funding, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) plans to issue biodiversity bonds that could raise up to $1.5 billion to safeguard endangered species and ecosystems across Africa’s 54 countries.

These wildlife bonds will attract private investment, with repayment tied to conservation performance. The more progress made—such as curbing poaching or stabilizing wildlife populations—the less governments will need to reimburse investors.

The GEF has already tested the model with success: protecting rhinos in South Africa, chimpanzees in Rwanda, and lemurs in Madagascar. Now, it plans to scale up, starting with an initial $150 million investment to unlock ten times that amount continent-wide.

The project arrives amid significant uncertainty surrounding environmental funding. The gradual pullback of certain donors, including the United States, poses risks to numerous species conservation initiatives, further strained by tightening budgets. Against this backdrop, biodiversity bonds offer an appealing option for African nations. Because the financing is off-balance-sheet, it does not add to public debt and attracts investors focused on flagship species and quantifiable outcomes.

Fred Boltz, Head of Programming at the GEF, explained to Reuters that the facility’s goals extend beyond flagship species; the bonds might eventually fund entire ecosystems such as wetlands, mangroves, or tropical forests. Having already invested $7.7 billion in Africa—particularly targeting desertification in the Sahel—the GEF aims to incorporate these bonds into its upcoming four-year funding plan.

The most recent resource replenishment secured $5.3 billion from 29 countries, with the United States contributing $700 million. However, this funding level is uncertain due to the new U.S. policy to reduce aid. For numerous African nations, biodiversity bonds could become one of the few reliable funding options for conservation—if projects are rapidly organized, key species or regions are prioritized, and investors are persuaded to participate.

This article was initially published in French by Olivier de Souza

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum