Nairobi: Kenya has today launched the Systemic Learning and Mainstreaming of Biodiversity Targets for Innovative Transformation and Behavioral Change (SYMBIOTIC) project to support biodiversity planning, financing, private-sector investment, and restoration. The country will be seeking to mobilize more resources and strengthen capacity to implement its biodiversity commitments, with the government warning that inadequate financing and weak coordination could undermine progress.
According to Kenya News Agency, Deputy Director at the State Department for Climate Change and Forestry, Mayiani Saino, said Kenya had translated the 23 global targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework into 25 national targets but faced challenges in implementing them, particularly at the county level. Saino emphasized the issues of capacity and financing at the county level as crucial to embedding commitments into everyday operations.
She stated that the Government was working to mainstream biodiversity into national and county planning, public finance, and business and investment decisions. Saino noted that biodiversity often competes for funding with other development priorities, despite the nation’s heavy reliance on nature for its GDP.
The five-year SYMBIOTIC project will aid the Government in translating biodiversity commitments into practical action by strengthening policy and coordination, integrating biodiversity into public finance, and promoting private-sector investment. It will assess existing legislation, incentives, and subsidies to determine their support for biodiversity investments, engaging businesses and financial institutions to promote biodiversity-positive practices.
Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Africa Strategy and Partnerships Manager, Nagnouma Kone, highlighted the need for innovative financing instruments to bridge the biodiversity financing gap, mentioning green bonds, sustainability-linked bonds, carbon finance, and debt-for-nature swaps.
Nature Kenya Executive Director, Dr. Paul Matiku, pointed out that Kenya has yet to establish its actual biodiversity financing gap but noted the substantial shortfall. He stressed the global financing requirement for implementing the biodiversity framework is estimated at about USD 200 billion annually.
GGGI Kenya Project Manager, Lavenda Ondere, mentioned the initiative’s aim to facilitate dialogue between the government and businesses to accelerate the implementation of Kenya’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).
The project, led by the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) and implemented by GGGI, will be rolled out in Kenya, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Indonesia, and Kyrgyzstan from February 2026 to January 2031, with funding from the German Government through the International Climate Initiative.
In Kenya, the initiative will also support natural capital accounting, biodiversity-friendly investments, and ecosystem restoration, while strengthening the participation of communities and other stakeholders in conservation and decision-making. This work aligns with Kenya’s national and international commitments on biodiversity frameworks, natural capital, and sustainable investment. Kenya’s updated NBSAP is complemented by the National Bioeconomy Strategy 2026-2036, the National Plan for Advancing Environmental-Economic Accounting 2025-2028, and the Kenya Green Finance Taxonomy.
