Financial perspective of Biodiversity Conservation

India, a mega biodiverse country and participant in various international agreements, is committed to biodiversity conservation. Biodiversity is both essential for our existence and of intrinsically valuable in itself. The rapid decline in biodiversity globally poses a threat to the human race and its existence. Environmental biologists believe strongly that we are in a middle of a biodiversity crisis. Biodiversity conservation is gaining prominence at an international level. However, available financial resources are vastly inadequate, besides being allocated across a plethora of schemes on the basis of variable geometry. Conservation initiatives remain piecemeal and without an assessment of their inter-linkages. Thus, a coherent and integrated study of financial instruments, tools and strategies for biodiversity conservation is imperative. For ensuring their effective implementation, an assessment of necessary institutional and regulatory framework is also vital.