Eurasia-Pacific Regional Dialogue: Finance solutions for biodiversity protections

The Eurasia-Pacific Regional Dialogue, organized by UNDP's Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) and the Government of Viet Nam, will be the first time over 40 countries in the region come together to explore investment-ready solutions to protect biodiversity since the UN Biodiversity COP16 in Cali in 2024.

In an era of declining international development assistance, these finance solutions are offering governments alternative strategies to mobilize resources for nature and biodiversity protections.

UNDP's BIOFIN methodology has catalyzed over US$1.6 billion in financing for nature in the 41 countries that started adopting finance solutions in 2018. Highlights include Viet Nam, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and.

Over three days, countries are expected to advance a new generation of finance approaches, linking public policy reforms with innovative financial instruments and forging stronger private sector partnerships.

The agenda spotlights how tools such as green bonds, nature-based insurance, biodiversity credits, and debt and equity instruments can be scaled to achieve national biodiversity goals while driving inclusive economic growth.

Attending delegates will also explore how repurposing subsidies that are environmentally destructive can not only offer fiscal savings for governments but also biodiversity gains. UNDP-BIOFIN is supporting countries with a methodology to identify and reverse public spending that is harmful to nature.

The conference is also geared to recognize the growing role of the private sector in driving nature-positive investment decisions, through blended finance instruments such as green bonds, and approaches such as access and benefit sharing as well as contributions for genetic resources that their business are anchored too.

A global shift to nature-positive policies could generate as much as US$10 trillion in new business opportunities, according to UNDP's Nature Pledge – a multi-year high- ambition corporate commitment to support 140 countries to accelerate global environmental action at scale for the benefit of people, planet, peace and prosperity.

Addressing the event, UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam Ramla Khalidi said, Viet Nam is among the world's most biodiversity-rich countries. Protecting this natural wealth is essential—not only for ecosystems, but also for food security, jobs, and resilience. The strength of BIOFIN lies in its systems approach: aligning policies, incentives, and markets so that economies grow by protecting nature, not by depleting it.

The event will last until September 25./.