What do we (not) know about biodiversity finance governance?

Abstract

Tackling biodiversity loss requires not only scaling up financial resources but also improving the governance of how such resources are mobilized, allocated, and accounted for. This paper reviews recent peer-reviewed literature (2019–2023) on biodiversity finance governance, focusing on three interrelated themes: financial instruments and mechanisms, governance structures, and critical and normative perspectives on biodiversity finance. Across these themes, we identify property rights as a key yet underexplored issue. Property rights shape who can access, control, and benefit from biodiversity-related finance. By synthesizing current research, we show how questions of ownership, access, and responsibility are central to the governance of biodiversity finance and propose that the politics of property rights constitutes a critical research frontier in this emerging field.