Cases / Finance, funds and markets · China · 2021–2026
Kunming Biodiversity Fund (China and UNEP)
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
"1.5 billion Yuan"; the 2024 report adds "~210 million USD" 1.5 billion yuan were pledged in my name. No one has measured what reached me.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
China announced 1.5 billion yuan for a Kunming Biodiversity Fund in 2021, and the fund launched in May 2024 as a UN multi-partner trust fund with UNEP. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment said in December 2025 that 400 million yuan had been paid in; the fund's own report says it selected 22 full-size projects of approximately 28 million US dollars in 2025.
1.5 billion yuanInitial funding committed by China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment
The fund's 2025 report gives the initial funding as 1.5 billion yuan; the 2024 report gives "1.5 billion CNY (~210 million USD)". The ministry said in December 2025 that 400 million yuan had been injected.
The fund's 2025 report gives the initial funding as 1.5 billion yuan; the 2024 report gives "1.5 billion CNY (~210 million USD)". The ministry said in December 2025 that 400 million yuan had been injected.
Status As of December 2025: 22 full-size projects (approximately 28 million USD) selected; the ministry said 400 million yuan of 1.5 billion yuan had been injected; no independent evaluation is on record.
What?
A multi-partner trust fund, financed initially by China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, to support developing countries' national biodiversity strategies and action plans under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund
Where?
Launched in Beijing; projects in at least 34 countries across all regions. UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund
When?
Announced October 2021; launched May 2024; first full-size projects selected 2025; duration to 28 May 2034. UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund
Who?
Gained
- Developing countries in the 22 projects — At least 34 countries to benefit from approximately 28 million USD of full-size projects, implemented by ten UN organisations UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund
Lost
- China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment — Committed 1.5 billion yuan; said 400 million yuan had been injected by December 2025 China Daily
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
To help developing countries accelerate and upscale actions under their national biodiversity strategies and action plans. UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund
How?
A UN multi-partner trust fund with an Executive Council, an Independent Technical Advisory Group and calls for proposals. UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
The Kunming Biodiversity Fund (KBF) is a multi-partner trust fund established by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Development Programme, according to the fund's 2025 annual report. China Daily wrote that China announced in October 2021 that it would lead by investing 1.5 billion yuan to establish the fund. The fund's 2024 report says it was launched in May 2024 in Beijing, established on 28 May 2024, with a duration of 240 months to 28 May 2034, and lists a contribution of "1.5 billion CNY (~210 million USD)". The report gives the initial funding as 1.5 billion yuan from the ministry.
The fund's 2025 report says a call for proposals announced at the CBD COP16 in October 2024 drew 136 concept notes (another paragraph says 129), of which 98 were put to the Independent Technical Advisory Group and 46 chosen by the Executive Council to submit full proposals. In 2025 the Executive Council selected 22 projects as its first full-size initiatives, 15 approved and 7 conditionally approved, which "amount to approximately 28 million USD" for at least 34 countries and ten UN organisations; it also reports the operational closure of five catalytic projects. In December 2025 the ministry's spokesman said the ministry had injected 400 million yuan (US$56.9 million, as China Daily reported) into the fund and that its first nine projects had been completed. The report lists as a lesson that "There is a need to strengthen engagement in Africa, SIDS and Eastern Europe." The sources reviewed contain no independent evaluation, audit or measurement of results for nature.
- 2021China announces it will lead by investing 1.5 billion yuan to establish the fund (October, per China Daily)
- 2024Fund launched in Beijing and established on 28 May; call for full-size proposals announced at CBD COP16 (October)
- 2025Executive Council selects 22 full-size projects (approximately 28 million USD, at least 34 countries); five catalytic projects closed
- 2025Ministry says 400 million yuan injected and first nine projects completed (December)
What was said
Claims, in the words of those who made them.
“The Kunming Biodiversity Fund aims to facilitate the successful implementation of the GBF at regional, national, subnational and local levels, with participation and involvement from the whole of government and whole of society.”
“We look forward to concluding replicable and scalable experiences through these projects”
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
How many projects the fund has completed
Government and regulators
Ministry of Ecology and Environment (via China Daily)
"The first nine projects supported by the fund have been successfully completed."
China DailyInternational bodies
Kunming Biodiversity Fund, 2025 report
Implementation and operational closure of 5 catalytic projects in 2025.
UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity FundHow it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
Recorded
- The fund's 2025 report gives the initial funding as 1.5 billion yuan; the ministry said in December 2025 that 400 million yuan had been injected.
- 22 full-size projects, approximately 28 million USD, at least 34 countries, selected in 2025.
- No independent evaluation, audit or measurement of results for nature appears in the sources reviewed.
In nature's name
What was promised in nature's name, the money that moved, and what was measured.
Promised
- “The Kunming Biodiversity Fund aims to facilitate the successful implementation of the GBF at regional, national, subnational and local levels, with participation and involvement from the whole of government and whole of society.” — Kunming Biodiversity Fund, 2025 annual narrative report (published May 2026) UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund
Money moved in nature's name
| What | Kind | Amount | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial funding from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment Ministry of Ecology and Environment (China) UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund | Pledged | ¥1.5bn | announced 2021; fund launched 2024 |
| Amount the ministry said it had injected into the fund Ministry of Ecology and Environment (China) China Daily | Raised | ¥400m | to December 2025 |
| Full-size projects selected by the Executive Council Kunming Biodiversity Fund Executive Council UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund | Budget | $28m | 2025 |
What was measured
Not measured
The sources reviewed contain the fund's own annual reports and the ministry's statements, which count projects and money but report no change for nature; no independent evaluation, audit or peer-reviewed measurement of the fund is on record.
Full-size projects selected
22 (approximately 28 million USD)
Fund's own report; at least 34 countries UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund
Operation Ongoing · Programme duration of 240 months to 28 May 2034 in the fund's 2024 report. UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund
Who gained
Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.
Reached nature or the ground
Not published
No figure published.
Gained elsewhere
Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: 2021–2025. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.
Responses on record
- Ministry of Ecology and Environment (China) (December 2025): Said it had injected 400 million yuan into the fund and launched 22 new projects greenlighted at the seventh UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi (8 to 12 December 2025). · China Daily
- Kunming Biodiversity Fund (published May 2026): Reported 22 full-size projects approved in 2025 and five catalytic projects closed, and said the next call for proposals would adopt a more efficient approach to evaluation. · UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What nature saw
Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
Full-size projects selected in 2025
22 (approximately 28 million USD)
Fund's 2025 annual report; at least 34 countries
Projects completed, per the ministry
first nine
China Daily, December 2025; the fund's report lists five catalytic projects closed
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Accounts
- Disputed How many projects the fund has completed
Record
- Not measured Not measured: any change for nature from KBF projects; the sources reviewed contain the fund's and the ministry's own counts of projects.
- Disputed Disputed: the fund's report gives both 136 and 129 concept notes received; the ministry (via China Daily) says the first nine projects were completed while the fund's report lists five catalytic projects closed.
- None on record None on record: the contributions deposited and expenditure; the fund's page on the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office gateway shows no financial values.
Did the harm stop?
The sources reviewed report no change in the biodiversity loss the fund addresses.
Who paid?
China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment is the stated source of the initial funding of 1.5 billion yuan; the ministry said 400 million yuan had been injected by December 2025.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers✓ International bodies
Press and investigations
- China injects nearly $60m into the Kunming Biodiversity FundChina Daily · 2025-12-26
International bodies
- Kunming Biodiversity Fund: 2025 Consolidated Annual Narrative ReportUN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund · 2026-05
- Kunming Biodiversity Fund: MPTF Office Generic Annual Programme Narrative Progress Report, 16 September-31 December 2024UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office / Kunming Biodiversity Fund · 2025-05
- Kunming Biodiversity Fund (fund page)UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office · n.d. (read 2026-10-21)
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