Introduction

Biodiversity is mostly considered a public good that provides global, national, and local benefits but for which it is difficult to mobilize financing. Adequate financing for its conservation and sustainable use remains a very challenging endeavor. At the heart of this challenge lies the reality of the low perceived financial and political value of biodiversity, which is linked to often nonexistent or ill-defined property rights, and to insufficient knowledge about biodiversity and how to measure its socioeconomic value. In addition, there is a (wrong) perception that the protection of biodiversity does not directly affect the daily lives of increasingly urban populations (as do sanitation, air pollution control, etc.). Other contributing factors are multiple institutional and enforcement failures and, finally, often perverse or conflicting incentives.

The public-good aspects of biodiversity require governments to play an active role in formulating incentive and regulatory frameworks that assign it a higher priority than is currently the case. Additionally, the governments have international obligations under the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to carry out conservation measures in their countries (NC-IUCN and TransGlobal, 1998).

Concerning the nature and volume of demand for biodiversity finance, the following can be stated: