International finance for Africa’s protected and conserved areas dropped sharply even as governments chase the pledge to protect 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030, and delegates at the biodiversity summit in Yerevan could not close the gap. The funding squeeze framed the Oct. 19-30 conference from start to finish.
The numbers behind that gap are stark. A report released during the summit found that African nations received about $389 million in international funding in 2025, a 32% drop from the 2022-2024 annual average. The continent’s share of all tracked conservation funding also slid, from 48% between 2023 and 2024 to roughly 39% in 2025. “Africa has seen the largest absolute decline in recent years,” the report notes.
The regional contraction mirrors a wider retreat. Worldwide funding for protected and conserved areas fell from around $1.2 billion in 2023 to about $1 billion in 2025.
For Brian O’Donnell, director of Campaign for Nature, the figures expose a question of spending priorities among wealthy nations. “Rich countries spend over 10 times as much money on chewing gum each year as they spend on advancing 30×30 in developing countries,” he said in a statement accompanying the report.
The summit did produce some new money. Roughly $1.8 billion in fresh funds for global biodiversity conservation was announced during the proceedings. Negotiators also agreed to broaden the base of contributors to international biodiversity finance, inviting developing countries such as China and Persian Gulf states to put money in. Whether that widening of the donor pool offsets the retreat by established funders remains an open question for the countries that depend on it.
Meanwhile, African delegations had arrived in Yerevan with clear demands. The African Group, representing 54 nations, pushed hard for greater financial support to meet global biodiversity targets. Their case was underlined by Nadège Nzoyem, WWF’s regional director for the Congo Basin, who told Mongabay’s David Akana ahead of the conference that money was the binding constraint. “The first element remains the lack of funding,” she said. “To improve wildlife monitoring, you need funds. To ensure that the forest is conserved, you also need funds.”
The finance shortfall carries practical consequences on the ground. The Forest Declaration Assessment 2026, published Oct. 13, found that while global deforestation declined by around 15% in 2025, driven largely by Brazil, deforestation and degradation in tropical Africa actually increased over the same period.
By contrast, the protected-area data offer a measure of encouragement. With just over four years until the 2030 deadline, African nations are closer to the 30×30 goal than the world as a whole, though still off track. According to a tracker run by SkyTruth, a U.S.-based environmental watchdog, African countries on average protect 19.9% of their land and 17.2% of their seas, against a global average of 18.7% of land and 10% of marine landscapes.
Closing the gap between that progress and the funding reality is now the central task. Astrid Schomaker, executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said in a statement: “We know what needs to change. We cannot protect nature while continuing to finance its destruction. Resources must reach the countries and communities that need them. And biodiversity must become part of everyday economic decisions.”
Whether the new donor pool announced in Yerevan can rebuild the funding base before 2030 will decide how far that gap narrows. More detail on the summit’s outcome is available at https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/global-biodiversity-summit-ends-with-shortfall-of-funding-for-africa-despite-30x30-push/