How much money is being spent on conserving India’s biodiversity? Is it enough? Does this work need more funding? Or do we need better utilization of the funds already committed for biodiversity conservation in the country? Such questions can be answered only if we have a precise estimate of the amounts being currently spent on conserving biodiversity in India. Thus, to understand biodiversity finance and to bridge the gap between what is being spent for biodiversity conservation and what is needed, UNDP initiated the BIOFIN Project in 2012 globally and India became part of the BIOFIN Process in 2015.

BIOFIN aims to develop a methodology for quantifying the biodiversity finance gap at national level, for improving cost-effectiveness through mainstreaming of biodiversity into National Development and Sectoral planning, and for developing comprehensive national Resource mobilizing strategies. BIOFIN thus hopes to provide a framework for undertaking ‘Bottom-up’ analyses of the biodiversity finance gap and resource mobilization strategies, through a transformative process led by national stakeholders.