UK joins Guyana-led Global Biodiversity Alliance

Last Updated on Saturday, 24 January 2026, 1:55 by Writer

The United Kingdom (UK) has joined the Global Biodiversity Alliance (GBA) which aims to mobilise international financing and technical expertise to protect planet Earth, outgoing British High Commissioner to Guyana Jane Miller said on Friday night.

“It feels right that we should join the Global Biodiversity Alliance,” she said in brief remarks as President Irfaan Ali stood next to her.

She said Dr Ali would be travelling to the UK next week “for further discussions” on the GBA.

“This is a very important initiative in slowing down the global biodiversity loss,” she said.

The top UK diplomat boasted that she had the privilege of visiting each of the 10 regions, seeing the country’s “incredible” biodiversity, meeting people and experiencing the rivers and rainforest.

Launched in July, 2025, the Guyana-led GBA seeks to mobilise resources in keeping with the provisions and principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Guyana estimates that the world invests just $200 billion per year in nature, but $700 billion is needed to meet the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) targets.

Speaking at last year’s launch, President Ali had said the GBA’s five pillars are advancing the global goal of conserving at least 30% of land and oceans by 2030, embedding biodiversity in national and corporate planning through measurable indicators, unlocking innovative finance, including biodiversity credits, green bonds, and debt-for-nature swaps, empowering Indigenous Peoples and local communities—the guardians of nature—and institutionalising monitoring and transparency through the Global Biodiversity Product and the Gross Biodiversity Power Index.

Then UK Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy had also added his voice to the need for support in a number of areas to counter biodiversity loss.

Those include mobilising finance with innovations such as green bonds, biodiversity credits, strengthening education and research to identify and promote nature-based solutions and empowering local and indigenous communities. – “the best custodians of nature there are.”

He had said the UK was the top contributor to the Global Biodiversity Fund.

He had congratulated President Ali for launching the GBA by bringing together such a “group of powerful advocates for nature in Guyana”.