3 April 2025 - In a world facing climate catastrophe and mass biodiversity extinction, nature-based solutions offer a way to address both crises simultaneously. Yet national climate and biodiversity initiatives continue to move forward within relative silos. In response, the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership is exploring collaborative work to foster synergies. 

The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, a country-driven initiative, supports countries on their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) towards the Global Biodiversity Framework. Across the aisle, the NDC Partnership supports countries in achieving Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement on climate change. Today, leaders within both movements recognize the need for greater alignment, acknowledging that by leveraging combined technical and financial support, countries could implement both NDCs and NBSAPs in a collaborative and powerful way. 

Through coordination between the NDC Partnership and the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, several priority themes were identified, highlighting not only the potential for synergies between NDCs and NBSAPs, but also providing concrete examples of how targeted investments in these areas could accelerate implementation and generate impactful results. These include opportunities to: 

• Conduct economic and financial feasibility studies for assisted natural regeneration projects.
• Devise strategies for restoring and protecting degraded ecosystems, including coastal and terrestrial landscapes.
• Develop methodologies for assessing the valuation of restored ecosystems, ensuring long-term sustainability.
• Strengthen technical and institutional capacities to scale up restoration efforts within national frameworks.
• Review public policies, regulatory frameworks and financial mechanisms to strengthen economic sectors and value chains around restoration, ensuring active participation of public and private sectors and local communities. 

Restoration: a key synergy

A recent review of support requests submitted to the NDC Partnership showed significant opportunities for biodiversity-focused nature-based solutions within climate requests. A substantial portion of the identified synergies revolved around ecosystem restoration, which plays a key role in climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and land management. Restoration initiatives present a concrete avenue for collaboration, as they contribute to carbon sequestration, biodiversity resilience, and improved livelihoods, aligning with national commitments under both NDCs and NBSAPs.

For example, the AIRES restoration initiative, which blends assisted natural regeneration with sustainable agroforestry, supported local communities with economic opportunities, significantly increased carbon sequestration, and rebounded biodiversity in the mountainous central region of Guatemala. What was once a degraded expanse is now a visual model of how restoration efforts can drive both climate and biodiversity benefits and support sustainable livelihoods.

The role of the MatchMaking Mechanism

The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s MatchMaking Mechanism connects countries with the financial and technical support needed to accelerate NBSAP implementation. Country members submit requests for support to implement national targets or key elements of their NBSAP. The request is distributed to a network of potential suppliers who can support a match for the request. When a match is made, country members decide how to move forward. 

The NDC Partnership and the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership are exploring the potential of channelling NDC requests for support into the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s MatchMaking Mechanism. The mechanism could help secure matches for NDC requests that sync with nature-based projects, like ecosystem restoration, and align with NBSAP requests. This alignment could be pivotal in creating more acceleration for NDCs and NBSAPs simultaneously, supporting win-win solutions. 

Scaling efforts with collaboration 

Collaborative efforts will help scale action on climate and biodiversity goals. By strengthening data-sharing mechanisms, coordinating country engagement, and promoting integrated financing approaches, the two initiatives could accelerate the implementation of nature-based solutions at national and subnational levels, breaking silos between climate and biodiversity action. Working together will drive impactful change, ensuring that both NDCs and NBSAPs contribute meaningfully to global sustainability. 

What do you think? Will collaboration yield impact? We invite you to join the conversation on LinkedIn and stay tuned for the next biodiversity action think piece. 

Explore the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership and NDC Partnership, and contact us today. 

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The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership is a country-led initiative to accelerate the implementation of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), raise their political profile, and drive collective action for nature. It is supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection (BMUV) through its International Climate Initiative (IKI), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), through the global project “GBF Implementation,” implemented by GIZ. Its work is facilitated by a Global Coordination Unit (GCU) hosted by UNEP, UNDP and the Secretariat of the CBD.