Biodiversity

Helping countries to conserve, restore and benefit from their biodiversity

UNEP
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113
Active Projects
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136
Countries

Biodiversity underpins our existence on this planet

Biodiversity gives us the food in our fridges, the water in our taps and the clothes on our back. It underpins all of the goods and services that are required for the survival of human societies and for the future of all life on the planet.

Given the critical role that biodiversity plays in our daily lives, one would think that we would guard it fiercely. And as a human race, we have made some progress in protecting biodiversity. But it’s nowhere near enough. 

Over the last century, there has been an unprecedented loss of this biodiversity from habitat destruction, overexploitation, pollution, climate change, and the introduction of invasive alien species. All of these problems are not some natural phenomenon; we only have ourselves to blame.

So what is the UN Environment Programme doing to fix this?

UNEP has been a world leader in Biodiversity for over 30 years. We provide the scientific foundations, policy expertise and innovation needed for countries to figure out how best to conserve, restore and benefit from their biological diversity. Our objectives are fully aligned with GEF priorities on the conservation, sustainable use and restoration of globally significant biodiversity:

  1. Deliver economically and socially sustainable pathways to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity 
  2. Adopt and implement sustainable management of nature in development frameworks
  3. Enhance nature conservation and restoration

Here are just some of the ways that we deliver on those objectives:

  • We help governments negotiate, inform and implement Multilateral Environmental Agreements 
  • We help countries improve the sustainability of their own protected areas 
  • We help countries effectively conserve and restore biodiversity in productive landscapes
  • We help countries benefit from and share their natural resources and the traditional knowledge that goes with them, sustainably 
  • We help countries integrate conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity into their national planning processes

Working with the Global Environment Facility, we represent an ideal choice for countries seeking to deliver projects to reach the goals set by the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and to safeguard their precious natural resources for generations to come.

There’s lots of information on our exciting projects on this site. So have a look around but if you can’t find anything, please don’t hesitate to contact us.