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In its second-to-last gathering of its eighth funding cycle, the Global Environment Facility’s governing body will take stock of major progress towards current targets and consider a new tranche of financing for high-impact initiatives through the GEF Trust Fund, Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), and Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF). 

The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) is the latest innovative mechanism of the GEF family of funds. It supports achievement of the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The fund was launched in August 2023, less than a year after the request from COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The first rounds of project selection took place in 2024.

The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) approved 22 new project preparation grants for projects in 34 countries worth over $87 million.

The Amazon is the largest tropical primary forest on Earth and one of the most biodiverse places. The Amazon also serves as the cornerstone of climate regulation and cultural diversity for the region and the globe. For the past three decades, the Global Environmental Fund has recognized the critical significance of the Amazon and provided unwavering support through pivotal initiatives and funding, most recently demonstrated by the Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Integrated Program (ASL) approved in 2015.

Botswana’s Chobe National Park is more than a natural treasure—it’s a powerful engine for inclusive socioeconomic growth. Home to the world’s largest African elephant population and endangered species like the African wild dog. Chobe, being part of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) – the largest land-based transboundary conservation area in the world – is among ecosystems that are vital to biodiversity, tourism, and regional stability.

During the Global Environment Facility Operational Focal Point regional training workshop in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, participants visited the Takitumu Conservation Area to learn about how GEF investments are helping to preserve species such as the endemic and threatened kakerori bird.

The 20th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) concluded with an affirmation of the value of working together in a collaborative manner to build on Africa’s successes in conserving and restoring nature for the long term. 

The second programming tranche of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) will open on August 11, 2025, and make $161.8 million of additional resources available in a series of consecutive calls for proposals.Established in response to decisions from the Convention on Biological Diversity COP15, the GBFF scales up financing for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The fund was ratified by 186 countries and launched at the Seventh GEF Assembly in Vancouver, Canada in August 2023.