A global initiative of the United Nations Development Programme that tackles the challenge of financing biodiversity conservation by providing technical support to develop and implement effective biodiversity finance strategies.
Cameroon has officially launched the Biodiversity Finance Initiative-Biofin, on July 29, 2025, in Yaoundé, marking a significant step towards sustainable financing for biodiversity conservation.
The event, organized by the ministry of Finance (MINFI), the ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED), in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), took place under a two-day national launch workshop.
This national launch workshop of the Biofin Cameroon project aimed at formalizing the government’s and its partners’ institutional commitment to implementing the initiative by integrating biodiversity finance into the country’s strategic priorities, notably the National Development Strategy 2030 (NDS30).
A crucial Programme to close financing gaps
During the official launch of the Biofin scheme, government officials, experts, and mayors of some councils made some high-level interventions that will help advance Cameroon’s ecosystem.
UNDP’s Resident Representative in Cameroon, Mathieu Ciowela, highlighted the multiple threats that affect nature.
Mathieu Ciowela said: “As you know, our planet is facing its sixth mass extinction of species, with consequences that will undoubtedly affect life on Earth today and for centuries to come. Humans have destroyed or degraded vast areas of terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems, pushing many of them toward irreversible ecological tipping points. Since 1990, primary forest, which includes some of the most biodiverse habitats, has declined by more than 80 million hectares (an area larger than Turkey). More than one million plant and animal species—a quarter of the world’s species—are threatened with extinction. This decline is largely due to changes in land and sea use, overexploitation, climate change, pollution, and the spread of invasive alien species.”
According to UNDP’s country Representative, this initiative is a clear response to address the numerous challenges in which Cameroon is entangled.
“Cameroon is recognized as a country with exceptional biodiversity, notably because it is home to more than 92% of Africa’s ecosystem categories, particularly in terms of variety, quantity, ecosystems, and genetic resources, with a high degree of endemism considered a natural capital, a fundamental pillar of food security, and its climate resilience in favor of sustainable development; Cameroon has the second largest forest massif in the Congo Basin, with forests covering approximately 45% of the national territory. This biodiversity contributes significantly to the well-being of populations, economic development, as well as scientific and medicinal research.” He added.
The Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development, acting as the technical agent in this project, outlined the positive impact of Biofin as the country enters into the practical phase.
Taking the floor to address officials and participants at the national launch workshop, Minister Hele Pierre made a national assessment of key statistics that need to be taken into account.
The patron of the Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development stated: “According to the National Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services validated in 2022, Cameroon has 92% of Africa’s ecosystem types. Its biodiversity includes more than 9,000 recognized plant species, more than 10% of which are endemic, and it is home to more than 3,500 animal species, more than 271 of which are endemic. Not to mention the mushroom species, which number more than 1,150. However, these different species are threatened daily. Some say this is due to the influence of deforestation, the impact of forest industries, or even poaching and bushfires…”
He mentioned the mechanisms put in place by his ministerial department to tackle the degradation of the ecosystem and the conservation the biodiversity, as well as the financing gaps that this project is coming in to curb.
Chairing the ceremony, Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, saluted the fruitful cooperation that exists between the government of Cameroon and development partners such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
He said this project comes in as a solution-based approach to address threats that have been triggered by climate change and other natural factors.
Minister Louis Paul Motaze also emphasized on the importance of this innovative financing and its role in boosting the green economy.
Elise Kenimbeni
