Cali Fund

News: The ‘Cali Fund’ was launched recently at the CBD COP16 in Rome.

About Cali Fund

• The Cali Fund was launched on February 25, 2025 at the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Rome.
• Aim: The fund aims to boost biodiversity finance by collecting contributions from businesses that use genetic data from nature in their products and research.
• The Cali Fund is the first global biodiversity fund under the UN to receive direct contributions from businesses that benefit from biodiversity.
• The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will be responsible for managing the fund, while the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTFO) will handle administrative tasks.
• It will receive money from industries that rely on Digital Sequence Information (DSI), which includes genetic data from plants, animals, and microorganisms. Companies in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture, and biotechnology will be required to contribute a portion of their revenue.
• The money collected will be used to support biodiversity conservation projects help developing countries implement biodiversity action plans, and fund scientific research to improve genetic data storage and usage.
• At least 50% of the fund’s resources will be allocated to indigenous peoples and local communities, recognizing their crucial role in protecting and maintaining biodiversity.
• The fund is considered a key step toward achieving the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) goal of halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030.