Fifty million Euros to seed new Nature for Health Trust Fund for Pandemic Prevention

The BMUV today jointly with several partners announced the establishment of a Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) on Nature for Health.

The health of the environment and animals are key factors that influence human health. In other words, if animals and their ecosystems are healthy, we humans will also be healthy. This is the idea that also the "One Health" approach is based upon; and whose effective and integrated implementation can help to prevent zoonoses and future pandemics.

Based on this, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), today marked the World Wildlife Day by jointly announcing the establishment of a Multi-Partner Trust Fund on Nature for Health.

The fund, through an initial contribution of 50 million Euros from the International Climate Initiative (IKI), brings together leading UN agencies, intergovernmental organizations and civil society groups in the field of environment and health. These include UNEP, the SCBD, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the EcoHealth Alliance. The fund will be administered by the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office.

“The global pandemic has revealed how interconnected nature and human well-being are. To address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, we need a true One Health approach. This is the only way to secure the health and well-being for current and future generations,” said Inger Andersen, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNEP.

The new fund will help countries achieve more holistic policymaking by creating further evidence of the links between biodiversity, climate and health, and will support decision makers and relevant actors to take measures to prevent future pandemics. Through application of enhanced One Health approaches, the fund aims to achieve improved policies and cross-sector collaboration.

“Above all, the Multi-Partner Trust Fund will focus on implementation of preventive One Health action and policies at the local, national and regional level. It is necessary to work together to develop the full potential of biodiversity to contribute to our health and well-being across the planet,” said Steffi Lemke, German Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.

The fund will also support fast-tracked implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity Global Action Plan on Biodiversity and Health that is currently under development.

“The post-2020 global biodiversity framework is our prescription for putting nature on a path to recovery. The Multi-Partner Trust Fund will accelerate the uptake of the CBD draft Global Action Plan for Biodiversity and Health, that will be considered at COP-15. This is precisely the type of partnerships needed to achieve the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity and advance the health of people alongside the health of the planet,” said Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the Executive Secretary of the CBD.

The fund invites countries and donors to join this initiative to take action to prevent the next pandemic by investing in nature.

To support the fund, please contact unep-onehealth(at)un.org