Global biodiversity conservation faces a US$700 million financing gap, as public funding falls short and no market exists for biodiversity credits.
Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo told the Global Biodiversity Alliance Conference and Financing Forum on Friday that the absence of established markets for biodiversity credits is a major obstacle to mobilising the resources needed to protect ecosystems.

"First of all, there is no market for biodiversity credit currently, not a compliance market, nor even a major voluntary market," he said.
Dr Jagdeo noted that although discussions have been held on what such credits should look like, no final agreement has been reached. That, he said, has compounded the funding shortfall.
"We have established a major gap, about $700 million. And given the situation, the fiscally stressed situation in the developed world, there is no hope at this point in time unless something changes radically through scale or public funds," he said.

Against that backdrop, he said the Alliance must prioritise technical work to help establish a credible biodiversity credit mechanism, including the conditions and safeguards under which such a market could operate.
He pointed to the development of forest carbon credits as a guide, noting that similar questions on credibility, permanence, leakage, Indigenous rights and accountability had to be addressed before that financing mechanism gained wider acceptance.

To that end, Dr Jagdeo urged the Alliance to set up working groups to provide technical analysis that could advance negotiations and influence international policy.
He also said the Alliance must complement, rather than compete with, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, noting that the Alliance's membership had grown from 17 to 142.
For that reason, he said, the organisation must concentrate on practical initiatives that can advance global biodiversity targets rather than set separate ambitions that may not deliver meaningful results.