Using Digital Innovation to Strengthen Environmental Fine Collection and Support Conservation: The IremboPay Experience in Rwanda

Rwanda’s highly biodiverse ecosystems continue to face threats such as deforestation, illegal logging, and poaching. Challenges in the enforcement of environmental laws, particularly in issuing and collecting fines from offenders, have exacerbated these pressures and limited Rwanda’s domestic funding for conservation initiatives.

The Government of Rwanda, with support from the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), launched IremboPay, a digital platform designed to register environmental offences, instantly issue fines, and automatically channel fine revenues to the Rwanda Green Fund.

As of May 2025, USD 130,000 in environmental fines were processed through IremboPay since its launch in October 2024. These funds are reinvested in reforestation, wetland restoration, environmental education, and other conservation initiatives.

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Updating protected area fees in Botswana: Aligning prices with current market values through an evidence-based and participatory process

In Botswana, 40% of the territory is under some type of legal environmental protection, with 17% classified as protected areas. However, limited funding increased their exposure to habitat loss, ecosystem conversion, and other pressures. Protected area fees had not been updated since 2000 in the country, contributing to this situation.

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Botswana, with support from the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), revised protected area fees across all national parks and game reserves in the country, except the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Revised fees became effective on April 2022.

In 2023, protected area fees in Botswana generated around USD 7.8 million (BWP 103.9 million) of revenue, compared to USD 4.6 million (BWP 61.3 million) in 2019. This achievement strengthens biodiversity conservation in the country.

Linglong Program: Cultivating Citizen Climate Activists of our time

In the context of accelerating global climate change, public awareness and participation in climate action across China remains limited. To address this, Friends of Nature launched the “Citizen Climate Action – Linglong Program” in 2021, with support from the Energy Foundation, the Beijing Xianfeng Changtian Foundation, and Partnerships for community Development. The program aims to identify and support individuals who already have a certain professional foundation but are at an early stage of engaging with climate issues. Through structured knowledge-building, mentorship, community support, and small grants, Linglong Program helps fellows design and implement citizen-led climate actions. By cultivating climate leaders and long-term change makers, the program establishes replicable and scalable models of climate action that inspire broader public engagement.

The new guardians of the páramo: Voluntary Agreements that transform the practices of farming families.

Chingaza National Park, with more than 77,000 hectares, is one of the most strategic protected areas of the Colombian National Natural Park System, as it is the main source of drinking water for 10 million people in the Bogotá DC and surrounding municipalities. It also protects moorland and Andean forest ecosystems that are key to regulating water resources in the Orinoco macro-basin, conserves endemic and/or nationally and globally threatened species of fauna and flora, and safeguards important sites for the indigenous communities that inhabited the territory. To guarantee its protection, the park has established conservation agreements with peasant families as part of a conservation pact. This participatory strategy allows communities to improve their productive practices while guaranteeing the protection of key ecosystems for the provision of ecosystem services, achieving a local collective effort that guarantees water security for future generations.

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Biodiversity and agriculture in the Mediterranean region

This report, Biodiversity and agriculture in the Mediterranean region: A species conservation perspective, is designed to inform policymakers, conservation practitioners, and stakeholders across the Mediterranean region. Its purpose is to highlight the current challenges posed to biodiversity by intensive agricultural pressures, while identifying solutions and opportunities to reconcile biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture. It acknowledges that while certain unsustainable agricultural activities pose a key threat to species conservation in the Mediterranean, agricultural landscapes also provide habitat to numerous species – so considering agriculture as a threat requires a more nuanced approach, given its inherent linkages to nature.

Sustainable Banana Fiber Extraction and Composting with Replicable Machine Designs

This solution is part of Sparśa, a Nepali non-profit initiative producing compostable menstrual pads made from locally processed banana fiber.

It describes the first phase of the production chain, detailing how banana pseudostems are sourced from farmers and processed at a factory near the plantations. The solution includes replicable CAD-supported designs for semi-automatic fiber extraction and pseudostem-cutting machines, enabling local manufacturing and adaptation. It also outlines sustainable fiber-drying methods and a circular system that converts the remaining biomass into organic compost fertilizer, which is returned to farmers. The extracted fiber is then turned into absorbent paper sheets used as the core of Sparśa menstrual pads. Overall, the solution strengthens circular economy practices, creates rural employment, empowers women, supports environmentally responsible menstrual hygiene options in Nepal, and offers a model that can be replicated in other banana-growing regions worldwide.

THE EXCLUSIVE ARTISANAL FISHING ZONE: A COMMUNITY INITIATIVE TOWARDS THE CARE OF MARINE MEGAFAUNA AND FOOD SOVEREIGNTY.

The Exclusive Artisanal Fishing Zone (ZEPA), located in the municipalities of Juradó and Bahía Solano, in Chocó, Colombia, was created to protect fishery resources and marine biodiversity, prioritizing artisanal fishing over industrial fishing. This initiative arose in response to overfishing and the negative impact of industrial fishing, which affected the livelihoods of local communities and marine ecosystems. By promoting sustainable practices, such as the use of more selective fishing gear, the ZEPA has facilitated the recovery of species and the protection of crucial habitats for marine megafauna, contributing to essential activities such as echolocation, feeding and reproduction of these species. In addition to conserving biodiversity, it has strengthened local economies by ensuring the availability of fishery resources for artisanal fishing. The ZEPA is an example of how community management and the protection of fishing traditions can lead to ecosystem conservation and improved quality of life for communities.

People at the Heart of Nature: Community Stewardship Protecting Viet Nam’s Biosphere Reserves and its Biodiversity

Viet Nam, one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, is losing nature at an alarming pace due to deforestation, unchecked tourism, land-use change, and pollution. Although 176 protected areas exist, many were long treated as “prohibited zones,” limiting community participation, weakening stewardship and restricting access to resources. Rapid growth in tourism, infrastructure, agriculture, and fisheries, combined with gaps in legal frameworks, institutional capacity, and awareness, has increased pressure on both protected and non-protected landscapes.

From 2020 to 2025, the GEF-funded Biosphere Reserve Project, led by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (now Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) with support from UNDP, worked to reshape this relationship. At its heart was a simple but powerful idea: biodiversity thrives when communities, authorities, and planners share responsibility for the landscapes they depend on.

Participatory in-situ Conservation and Sustainable Use of Agrobiodiversity in Hainan

Hainan is a natural gene bank for tropical crop varieties which include many endemic crop varieties such as Shanlan rice, tropical native melons, beans, solanaceous vegetables as well as 15 local breeds of livestock. However, intensive agriculture development, environmental pollution, invasive alien species, urbanization, attrition of traditional production systems, fragmentation, degradation of habitats and climate change put increasing pressure on agrobiodiversity conservation and sustainable use. This Solution presents how conservation and sustainable use of local agricultural genetic diversity in Hainan Province were promoted through the development of incentive mechanisms for farmers to sustain populations of endemic crops and livestock, the establishment of a supportive enabling environment and strengthened institutional capacity.

Cross-Sectoral Exchange For Improved Management Of Natural Resources In Rwanda

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Increasing funding for protected areas in Kazakhstan: Strengthening management plans, offering paid services, and enhancing the skills of current and future generations

Protected areas in Kazakhstan expanded yearly, reaching 25 million hectares in 2018. However, public funding did not increase accordingly. As a result, the amount of financing per hectare of protected area declined. Challenges in planning and law implementation aggravated this situation.

The Government of Kazakhstan, supported by the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), promoted legal reforms and capacity building to enhance the management and financial sustainability of protected areas. This support was jointly provided with the project “Conservation and sustainable management of key globally important ecosystems for multiple benefits” funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

This initiative catalysed additional public funding for protected areas, which rose from USD 22.5 million in 2018 to USD 60 million in 2024. Moreover, the revenue from paid services in protected areas grew from USD 620 thousand to USD 2.6 million, supporting biodiversity conservation.

Using Green Sukuk Funds to Construct the Maluku Conservation Center in Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, with exceptionally rich fauna and flora. However, illegal wildlife trade has risen in the Maluku province, threatening endemic species. While this situation demonstrates the need to strengthen species conservation efforts, mobilizing funds for such activities is a challenge.

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia, with support from the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), accessed USD 2.7 million in green sukuk funds for the construction of the Maluku Conservation Center, dedicated to wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and release into natural habitats. Green sukuks are sovereign bond-like Islamic finance instruments, and their application to biodiversity-related projects was previously limited.

In 2023-2024, 955 birds, 323 reptiles, and 319 other animals were treated and rehabilitated in the Maluku Conservation Center, contributing to the conservation of species and ecosystems.

Scalable Model for Sustainable Coffee Farming in Panama

In Panama’s western highlands, small coffee farmers face growing pressures from pests, plant diseases and climate change. Heavy reliance on chemical pesticides has harmed biodiversity, degraded soils and threatened pollinators. This solution shows how endophytic fungi, microorganisms that live naturally inside plants, can serve as effective biological pest control adapted to local conditions. Fungal strains were identified and transformed into low-cost formulations that were tested on coffee farms, where they significantly reduced the need for chemical inputs. The initiative brings together scientists, government institutions and local communities, with a strong focus on training and empowering women farmers. By addressing biodiversity loss, land degradation and gaps in technical capacity, the project strengthens sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience. Farmers benefit through higher yields, lower costs and healthier ecosystems, creating a scalable model for sustainable coffee production in Panama and beyond.