The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) will be taking part in the upcoming World Biodiversity Summit in Cali, Colombia. This prestigious event, taking place alongside the UNCBD COP16, will focus on advancing the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) established at COP15. The delegation will be lead by Michael Hillary - Group Executive - Financing Operations supported by Julie Clarke, Environmental Analyst and Mookho Mathaba, Climate Finance Specialist. Hillary will participate in a discussion titled “The Road to $200 Billion: Finance Strategies for Biodiversity Action” on 26 October, from 16h00 (GMT-5). The panel will explore strategies for closing the biodiversity finance gap and mobilising $200 billion annually to meet Target 19 of the Global Biodiversity Framework. 

Deliberations will also delve into how nature-focused regulations can contribute to achieving these targets and how financial innovation can accelerate biodiversity conservation efforts. The Summit is set to foster transformative action, innovation, and cross-sector collaboration, aligning business and financial strategies with global biodiversity goals to create a nature-positive future by 2030 and beyond.

This session will bring together finance leaders to share effective strategies for bridging the biodiversity funding gap and achieving nature conservation goals through targeted investments and partnerships. One of the primary objectives of the panel will be to align financial flows with the Global Biodiversity Framework’s goals, focusing on closing the estimated $700 billion finance gap by 2030. In addition, the panel will emphasise the importance of cross-sector collaboration, fostering partnerships between finance, industry, and conservation sectors to develop innovative approaches that support both biodiversity preservation and climate action. It will also explore ways to advance economic models that recognise the value of nature, driving investments towards a nature-positive and net-zero economy in line with the GBF and the Paris Agreement.

The panel will be moderated by Jessica Smith (UNEP-FI) and other speakers include Cornelia Neumann (Oliver Wyman), Kumi Kitamori (OECD), and Noor Yafai (The Nature Conservancy).

The World Biodiversity Summit will serve as a platform for leading coalitions and initiatives such as the Nature Investment Coalition and the Climate Investment Coalition (CIC), fostering impactful action. It will feature a wide array of panels, keynotes, and workshops aimed at broadening the biodiversity dialogue and identifying scalable solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss. Key topics to be addressed include the bioeconomy approach to a nature-positive transition, finance strategies for biodiversity action, regenerative agricultural practices, the implementation of Target 15 for supply chains, opportunities and challenges of the blue economy, and successful clean energy cases.

The event will gather over 400 in-person attendees and more than 2,000 digital participants, including policymakers, asset owners, financiers, businesses, and environmental professionals. The outcomes from the Summit will shape global biodiversity efforts, with a focus on nature-positive investments, regulatory frameworks, and conservation strategies that drive systemic change.