Financing mechanisms to bridge the resource gap to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services in Brazil

Abstract This article discusses financial mechanisms for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services in Brazil. Five mechanisms were selected for in-depth analysis using the Biofin methodological approach: ecological fiscal transfer, environmental reserve quotas, payments for environmental services, tourism concessions, and forest concessions. They can reduce the current financial gap for biodiversity conservation in the country. Ecological fiscal transfer, payments for environmental services, tourism, and forest concessions can generate approximately US$ 1 billion annually. The potential to generate revenues in environmental reserve quotas markets is big, but uncertainty is also very high, with estimates from US$ 1 to US$ 20 billion up to 2030. Most of these mechanisms aim to involve the private sector in conserving biodiversity and require an active role for the public sector, either through fiscal or regulatory instruments. There is a need to adapt the financial mechanism to the political and institutional context. In Brazil, weak public management capacity, institutional uncertainties, and political opposition to environmental policy are the main challenges for large-scale implementation of these instruments.