Integrating biodiversity into agriculture, forestry, and other sectors has become a defining challenge for aligning conservation with development.

The evaluation of GEF support to biodiversity mainstreaming is the first stand-alone assessment of its performance and effectiveness, drawing on 471 projects totaling $2.34 billion in grants and $12.73 billion in cofinancing from GEF-3 through GEF-6, as well as case studies in Colombia, India, and South Africa. Methods include portfolio analysis, site visits, and interviews with government, agency, and civil society stakeholders.

The study finds that mainstreaming is now the largest area of GEF biodiversity investment, accounting for more than half of projects and funding in GEF-6, with most interventions focused on integrating biodiversity into agriculture and forestry.

Support has helped embed biodiversity considerations into policies, institutions, and production practices, making notable contributions to national commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

GEF interventions have influenced policy, institutions, and regulations, but mainstreaming beyond individual projects is gradual and uneven. Stronger outcomes are evident where there is government commitment, institutional capacity, and consistent monitoring.

The report recommends designing interventions with a longer-term perspective, strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems, leveraging GEF’s convening role to improve policy collaboration, and systematically assessing benefits and trade-offs between socioeconomic and ecological outcomes.