Financing biodiversity for sustainable development in Morocco: Public expenditure trends, governance, and pathways to 2035

Biodiversity loss remains one of the most pressing global environmental challenges, driven in part by insufficient, fragmented, and poorly aligned financial flows. Although the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for a substantial scaling-up of biodiversity finance, empirical national-level assessments remain scarce, particularly in developing and middle-income countries. This study evaluates biodiversity-related expenditures in Morocco over the period 2019–2024 and explores alternative financing trajectories up to 2035. Using a Biodiversity Expenditure Evaluation framework aligned with the BIOFIN methodology, the analysis identifies, classifies, and quantifies public, international, and non-state financial flows that contribute directly or indirectly to biodiversity objectives. The results reveal persistent underinvestment, a declining expenditure trend, strong institutional concentration, and a thematic bias toward conservation and sustainable use, to the detriment of ecosystem restoration and systemic interventions. Scenario-based projections indicate that maintaining current expenditure patterns would be insufficient to halt biodiversity degradation. In contrast, a progressive scaling-up of investments toward approximately 0.3% of GDP by 2035, combined with improved public financial management and diversified financing instruments, could significantly enhance alignment with international biodiversity targets. This study contributes to sustainable development and biodiversity finance literature by providing a longitudinal, policy-relevant assessment of national biodiversity expenditures and by highlighting key structural reforms needed to support a resilient and nature-positive financing framework.