The ten multilateral development banks (MDBs) have released an updated version of the Common Principles for Tracking Nature Finance. This initiative is part of their work within the MDB Nature Working Group, which first introduced the principles in 2023. The move builds on commitments made in the 2021 MDB Joint Statement on Nature, People and Planet, which recognized the connection between poverty reduction, climate change mitigation, and preventing nature loss.
The statement from 2021 outlined a shared commitment among MDBs to address the causes of nature loss by promoting finance for nature and improving methodologies to monitor these investments throughout their portfolios.
In 2022, 188 countries adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), a global agreement that calls for financial flows from all sources to help stop and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, aiming for full recovery by 2050. The GBF sets out four main goals and 23 targets that focus on reducing threats to biodiversity through conservation efforts, restoring natural habitats, addressing direct causes of nature loss across economic sectors, and ensuring that benefits from nature are distributed fairly. The framework also stresses the need for increased funding and better tools to implement these actions effectively.
MDB-provided nature finance supports countries in implementing their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) as well as related finance plans. It also helps encourage private sector involvement aligned with GBF objectives.
In light of GBF implementation, the Common Principles have been revised. The updated document now highlights the importance of tracking all relevant MDB investments contributing to GBF goals—including those supporting broader economic transformation—incorporates lessons learned from earlier pilot projects in financing and monitoring systems, and introduces a new taxonomy defining eligible activities across different sectors.