More biodiversity funding is reaching Indigenous communities. But who decides how it is spent?
At recent Global Environment Facility (GEF) council meetings in Samarkand, nearly 39% of new GEF biodiversity funds were allocated to projects led by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), a sharp rise from the historic baseline of less than 1%.
The Cali Fund — established at COP16 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held in Cali, Colombia in October–November 2024 — commits 50% of its resources to IPLC-identified priorities; however, company contributions remain voluntary and initial uptake has been negligible.
The central unresolved question is governance: whether funds flow through national governments (government-intermediary model) or reach Indigenous organisations directly without an additional governmental layer (direct access model).
Indigenous representatives, including members of the 24-person Cali Fund Steering Committee, argue that representation at decision-making tables is distinct from actual control over resource allocation and project selection.
Administrative reporting requirements and predetermined metrics risk excluding smaller Indigenous organisations that lack the bureaucratic capacity to comply, reproducing historic exclusion through procedural means.
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and COP16
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a multilateral environmental agreement adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, entering into force in December 1993. It has three objectives: conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. The CBD's supreme governing body is the Conference of the Parties (COP), which meets biennially. COP15 (Kunming-Montreal, December 2022) adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). COP16 was held in Cali, Colombia from October 21 to November 1, 2024.
Key Details
- CBD adopted: 1992 (Rio Earth Summit); in force: December 1993.
- India ratified the CBD in 1994; enacted the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, as domestic implementation.
- Three pillars: conservation, sustainable use, and benefit-sharing (ABS — Access and Benefit Sharing).
- Nagoya Protocol (2010): Supplementary agreement on ABS; operationalises the benefit-sharing pillar.
- Cartagena Protocol (2000): Covers biosafety and Living Modified Organisms (LMOs).
- COP15 Outcome: Kunming-Montreal GBF with 23 targets, including the landmark "30x30" target.
The Cali Fund and the IPLC funding shift discussed in this article are direct outcomes of COP16, which operationalised the GBF's commitments to Indigenous rights in biodiversity governance.
Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the 30x30 Target
Adopted at COP15 in December 2022, the Kunming-Montreal GBF is a strategic plan with 23 action-oriented targets to be achieved by 2030. Its headline commitment — the "30x30" target (Target 3) — commits signatory nations to conserve 30% of terrestrial, inland water, coastal, and marine areas by 2030 through ecologically representative, well-connected, and equitably governed systems. The GBF explicitly recognises Indigenous and traditional territories as valid conservation areas — a significant departure from earlier frameworks that privileged state-run protected areas. Target 22 specifically calls for the full and effective participation of IPLCs in decision-making in biodiversity governance.
Key Details
- 30x30 target: protect 30% of land and 30% of ocean by 2030.
- 23 targets under GBF, including halving pesticide risk, eliminating harmful subsidies worth $500 billion annually, and mobilising $200 billion per year for biodiversity from all sources by 2030.
- Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF): established in 2023 under the GEF as the primary financial mechanism for implementing the GBF.
- $200 billion/year target: includes $20 billion/year in international flows to developing countries by 2025, rising to $30 billion/year by 2030.
- At least 20% of GBFF programming is committed to IPLCs.
The IPLC funding statistics (39% of new GEF biodiversity funds) and the Cali Fund's 50% IPLC allocation directly implement GBF Targets 19 (resource mobilisation) and 22 (IPLC participation), but the governance debate exposes the gap between quantitative targets and qualitative self-determination.
Global Environment Facility (GEF)
The GEF is an independent multilateral financial mechanism established in 1991 as a pilot programme within the World Bank; it became a permanent, independent institution in 1994. The GEF serves as the financial mechanism for multiple multilateral environmental agreements, including the CBD, the UNFCCC, the Stockholm Convention (persistent organic pollutants), and the Minamata Convention (mercury). It provides grants and concessional funding to developing countries for projects benefiting global environmental commons.
Key Details
- Established: 1991 (World Bank pilot); independent institution from 1994.
- Serves as financial mechanism for: CBD, UNFCCC, Stockholm Convention, Minamata Convention, UNCCD (land degradation).
- GEF-8 replenishment cycle (2022–2026): $5.33 billion pledged — largest in GEF's history.
- GBFF (Global Biodiversity Framework Fund): sub-fund within GEF architecture, launched June 2023 at GEF Council meeting in Vancouver; $211 million allocated to GBFF project activities as of COP16; additional $163 million announced at COP16.
- GEF Council meetings held in Samarkand (referenced in this article) are where programming allocations are decided.
The 39% IPLC figure comes from GEF Council allocation decisions — the article focuses on whether these allocations translate to genuine community control or merely channel funds through governments that then determine spending priorities.
The Cali Fund and Digital Sequence Information (DSI) Benefit-Sharing
The Cali Fund, agreed at COP16 in 2024, is the world's first global benefit-sharing mechanism specifically for Digital Sequence Information (DSI) on genetic resources. DSI refers to digital data derived from genetic resources — genome sequences, protein structures — that companies and researchers access through open databases without physical collection from source countries. Pharmaceutical, agricultural biotech, and cosmetics industries generate billions in revenue using DSI from biodiversity-rich developing countries and Indigenous territories, without contributing to conservation. The Cali Fund asks (but does not yet compel) these companies to contribute a share of revenues.
Key Details
- DSI: Digital Sequence Information — genetic data derived from biodiversity, stored in databases like NCBI GenBank; not covered by the physical sample provisions of the Nagoya Protocol.
- Cali Fund: 50% of resources directed to IPLC-identified priorities; 50% to developing country CBD national targets.
- Company contributions: voluntary (not mandatory); major pharmaceutical and biotech industry lobbying successfully resisted mandatory levies at COP16.
- First contribution months after launch: only $1,000 received — reflecting the limitation of a voluntary mechanism.
- Named after Cali, Colombia (COP16 host city) — similar convention to the Nagoya Protocol being named after Nagoya (COP10 host).
The Cali Fund is the primary instrument for channelling biodiversity revenues back to IPLCs; its governance structure — specifically whether communities can directly access funds or must route them through national governments — is the central dispute analysed in this article.
- 39%: share of new GEF biodiversity funds going to IPLC-led projects (as of GEF Council meeting in Samarkand, 2026).
- Less than 1%: historical share of international biodiversity finance reaching Indigenous communities.
- 50%: share of Cali Fund resources committed to IPLC-identified priorities.
- $1,000: total voluntary contributions received by the Cali Fund in first months after launch.
- $211 million: GEF allocations to GBFF project activities since inception (June 2023 to COP16).
- $163 million: additional GBFF funding announced at COP16 (October 2024).
- 30x30 target: protect 30% of land and 30% of ocean by 2030 (GBF Target 3).
- CBD: adopted 1992 (Rio), in force 1993; India ratified 1994.
- Kunming-Montreal GBF: adopted December 2022 at COP15; 23 targets for 2030.
- COP16: held October 21–November 1, 2024, in Cali, Colombia.
- Nagoya Protocol (2010): ABS framework under CBD; operationalises benefit-sharing pillar.
- India's Biological Diversity Act: 2002 (domestic implementation of CBD).
- GBFF: launched June 2023; managed under GEF; at least 20% programming committed to IPLCs.