The Cali Fund 

ObjectivesFund Scope

The conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and the restoration of ecosystems, are essential if humanity is to continue to survive. Nature underpins all life on Earth: it provides food, medicine, energy, clean air and water, security from natural disasters as well as recreation and cultural inspiration. However, biodiversity is being lost at a rapid scale, jeopardizing the continued provision of nature’s contributions to people and threatening human security and wellbeing. Efforts to reduce and reverse this loss are underfunded and benefits from the use of genetic resources are not fairly and equitably shared with the countries and communities providing them.

Digital sequence information on genetic resources (DSI), within the context of the CBD - adopted in 1992 - arose in 2016 after several years of discussions that considered how to address emerging challenges related to the Convention’s third objective -  the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.

The Cali Fund for the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits from the Use of Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources as a multi-partner trust fund is the financial engine behind the sharing of monetary benefits from the multilateral mechanism for the fair and equitable benefits from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources.

The goal of the Cali Fund is to support the realization of the objectives of the Convention in particular for least developed countries and small island developing States, and countries with economies in transition, and especially for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, including through the delivery of activities described in national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs). Funding will also support scientific research on biodiversity; benefit indigenous peoples and local communities globally, including women and youth within those communities; and support the building of capacity to generate, access, use, analyze and store digital sequence information on genetic resources according to capacity needs.

GovernanceAccountability

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee provides overarching Strategic Oversight and Programmatic Oversight, direction, and cohesion for the Cali Fund, in line with the decisions of the COP to the CBD (decision 16/2 Enclosure IV).   

The Steering Committee is composed of 24 members, including 15 members from Parties (3 per region); 7 members from indigenous peoples and local communities (1 per sociocultural region); and 2 members from UN Organizations (UNEP/SCBD and UNDP) as well as 6 Observers (2 from the civil society, 2 from scientific institutions, and 2 for private sector representation) and the UN MPTF office.

Fund Secretariat

The secretariat of the Cali Fund will be  hosted by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) in Montreal, Canada. As per Enclosure V, the secretariat will support the functioning of the Cali Fund and receive its guidance from the  Cali Fund Steering Committee. The secretariat supports the Steering Committee to implement its decisions, and facilitates the overall operation of the fund, ensuring strict separation of oversight and implementation functions.

Administrative Agent

The Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTFO) acts as the Administrative Agent (AA) of the Cali Fund, in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the MPTFO and the Participating UN Organizations. The Administrative Agent is responsible for the receipt, administration and management of contributions from donors, disbursement of funds to Implementing Organizations, and consolidation and dissemination of financial reports to Fund contributors. 

Participating Organizations 

Participating Organizations are those which receive funds from the Cali Fund and will include Organizations identified by Governments for country allocations, or by indigenous people and local communities for their allocations. Such entities can be Government organizations, UN Organizations and not-for-Profit Non-UN Organizations. Three modalities of funding are envisioned, for which the Steering Committee will approve allocation criteria until such time that the Conference of the Parties has provided guidance on this matter, which is expected at the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 2026. In the meantime, the Steering Committee will consider interim disbursements until such time.

Projects

The Cali Fund

The Cali Fund is currently supporting count_projects ongoing projectscount_globalInterregional and count_countries country-specific. This table shows the most recently approved ongoing projects.

All project financial information can be found in the Financials section, including delivery analysis by organization, theme and project; project financial status by country and by theme.

The Cali Fund

ContactsPoints of contact