His Excellency President Dr Irfaan Ali declared that today’s launch of the inaugural Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit marks the beginning of an urgent global campaign to preserve the planet’s ecosystems.
In his keynote address, President Ali said that the Summit, spearheaded by Guyana, aims to galvanise international collaboration by bringing together leaders from across sectors to confront the global biodiversity crisis and forge actionable solutions.
“We meet at a moment of unprecedented urgency — yet also immense opportunity. Today, we are not simply launching an initiative, we are igniting a global movement to protect the living fabric of our planet, and I am proud that this movement begins here in Guyana, with the support and partnership of everyone gathered here today.”
The President added that biodiversity is under siege; since each year, an estimated 10 million hectares of forest are lost, one million species face extinction, and wetlands are vanishing three times faster than forests.
“These changes are not remote or abstract; they are real, immediate, and devastating. They affect the water we drink, the food we eat, the air we breathe. They affect our jobs, our health, our economies, our culture, our peace. They affect our very survival.”
The President posited that the destruction of global biodiversity continues not due to ignorance, but due to invisibility, as the true value of biodiversity is often ignored in national accounts, absent from financial statements, and invisible in boardrooms and budget plans.
“This invisibility”, the President declared, “ends here”.
He emphasised that the Alliance will be guided by three core convictions: biodiversity is the backbone of life; effective conservation depends on precise measurement; and investing in nature is a global imperative, not an optional gesture.
“We need a Global Biodiversity Alliance because nature doesn’t recognise borders, and neither should our efforts to protect it. Nature is global, and so must our actions be. By bringing together countries, communities, scientists and leaders, we can share knowledge, pool resources and tackle major challenges such as habitat loss and climate change more swiftly and effectively. Together, we can safeguard our planet’s incredible variety of life for today and tomorrow.”
The Alliance will pursue five strategic pillars: advancing the 30×30 conservation goal—which aims to protect 30% of the world’s land and ocean areas by 2030; embedding biodiversity into policy and planning frameworks; unlocking innovative financing solutions; empowering Indigenous and local communities; and strengthening accountability through robust global monitoring tools.
“We need a Global Biodiversity Alliance because nature doesn’t recognise borders, and neither should our efforts to protect it. Nature is global, and so must our actions be. By bringing together countries, communities, scientists and leaders, we can share knowledge, pool resources and tackle major challenges such as habitat loss and climate change more swiftly and effectively. Together, we can protect our planet’s incredible variety of life for today and tomorrow.”
He added that the Alliance is not merely an environmental imperative, but an economic revolution.
Accordingly, the Alliance is committed to scaling blended finance to de-risk investment in nature-based enterprises; piloting biodiversity credits that reward stewardship; expanding debt-for-nature swaps, modelled on Guyana’s experience; and supporting community-driven finance models that place Indigenous leadership at the centre.
“We invite development banks, asset managers, impact investors and sovereign wealth funds to join us, because financing nature is not charity, it is insurance. It is resilience. It is a return on investment.”
President Ali also announced a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Guyana and the Yale Centre for Biodiversity and Global Change. This MoU, he stated, marks the beginning of a strategic and long-term collaboration focused on biodiversity science, data and technology.
Under the agreement, Yale, through its global biodiversity intelligence platform, Map of Life, will work with Guyana to support its leadership in the Global Biodiversity Alliance; assist in designing a world-class International Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity Research in Guyana; develop a national biodiversity information system featuring maps, dashboards and data layers; and guide the application of cutting-edge biodiversity science to decision-making, including Guyana’s 30×30 conservation commitment.
In addition, a landmark declaration was signed at the Summit to reaffirm a unified global commitment to biodiversity protection, restoration, and sustainable use.
Guyana’s environmental drive
At today’s launch, President Ali spoke extensively about Guyana’s transformational Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). He explained that over the years, the country’s LCDS has demonstrated how economic growth and environmental stewardship can coexist. Now, through the Alliance, Guyana is elevating its leadership to an entirely new level.
The President highlighted that analyses show Guyana’s ecosystems provide over US$15.2bn per year in ecosystem services, with 96% of that value derived from non-market services. Genetic resources alone, from plant compounds and medical potential to unique species traits, are valued at US$8.4bn annually, while existence and bequest values, reflecting what people are willing to pay to preserve nature, total US$3.6bn each year.
“Think about that. The forests of Guyana, not being cleared, not being sold, not being converted, are providing more economic value by standing than they would if destroyed. This is the very essence of a nature-positive economy.”
President Ali emphasised that this reality is not unique to Guyana but is mirrored in every forest, reef, wetland, savannah and mountain across the Earth.
“Yet, despite this intrinsic value, biodiversity remains grossly underfunded. Today, we invest just US$200bn per year in nature. To meet the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework, we need at least US$700bn annually.”
He stated that global financing for nature must be tripled and directed where it is needed most, especially to the Global South.
“The stakes could not be higher. The moment could not be more urgent, but the opportunity has never been greater. We are not here to admire the problem. We are here to build solutions. We are not here to repeat promises. We are here to create accountability. We are not here to lament what has been lost. We are here to protect what remains.”
The President urged that the Summit should be remembered as one that altered the trajectory of our planet.
“Let us rise together as a Global Biodiversity Alliance. Let us show the world that we can build an economy that honours nature, a development model that values life, and a future that is abundant — not in extraction, but in restoration. Let history record that when the world stood at the brink of ecological collapse, it was the voice of small states, forest peoples and moral conviction that sparked a global awakening.”
The Summit was attended by a number of Heads of State and Government, including the President of the Dominican Republic, His Excellency Luis Abinader Corona; the Prime Minister of Barbados, the Honourable Mia Amor Mottley; the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Honourable Dr Ralph Gonsalves; Vice President of Ecuador, the Honourable María José Pinto; former President of Colombia, Iván Duque; members of the diplomatic corps; and leaders from various sectors.
