Addis Ababa, The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), together with the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI), the Ministry of Planning and Development (MoPD), The Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), NABU Ethiopia, and Internews, came together in Addis Ababa for the national kick-off of the SYMBIOTIC project, marking an important milestone as the project moves into implementation in Ethiopia to embed biodiversity into the country’s investment policies, economic planning, and societal decision-making.

SYMBIOTIC, SYstemic learning and Mainstreaming of BIOdiversity Targets for Innovative transformation and behavioural Change, is a five-country initiative implemented in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Indonesia, and Kyrgyzstan, and supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Government of Germany through the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN). The project brings together policy, education, communication, and societal engagement to drive systemic change for biodiversity, and is led globally by NABU, with GGGI, Internews, NABU Ethiopia, Nature Kenya, and Burung Indonesia as implementing partners.

The national kick-off event opened with remarks from Okechukwu Daniel Ogbonnaya, Country Director of GGGI Ethiopia, who welcomed participants and set out the project’s ambition to close the gap between Ethiopia’s biodiversity policy commitments and their implementation on the ground.

Okechuwku Daniel Ogbonnaya, Country Director, GGGI Ethiopia

“Ethiopia has made real commitments to biodiversity through its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan,” Daniel noted. “SYMBIOTIC helps us go further, working with government and the private sector to mainstream those commitments into fiscal planning, investment decisions, and everyday business practice, so biodiversity becomes part of how Ethiopia grows, not separate from it.”

Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Karta Kaske, Director General of the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute, reflected on Ethiopia’s biodiversity priorities and the importance of partnerships like SYMBIOTIC in translating national strategy into measurable action across government and the private sector.

Dr. Karta Kaske, Director General of Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute

“Biodiversity is not separate from Ethiopia’s development agenda, it is the foundation of it,” Dr. Karta said. “Through the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, we have set our targets in alignment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). A successful implementation of the NBSAP, however, requires a concerted effort by all relevant stakeholders. Now, with partners like GGGI, NABU, and Internews, the SYMBIOTIC project gives us a pathway to embed those targets into how the country plans, invests, and grows.”

Following the keynote, Dr. Misikire Tessema Lemma, National Coordinator of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), presented an overview of Ethiopia’s NBSAP, outlining the country’s biodiversity targets and the institutional gaps that continue to constrain their integration into fiscal systems and sectoral development strategies.

“Our National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan sets clear targets for the country,” Dr. Misikire explained. “Partnerships like SYMBIOTIC are essential to closing the gap between what we’ve committed to on paper and what actually happens on the ground.”

The Ministry of Planning and Development followed with a presentation on Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) by Assefa Molla Terefe, GHG MRV Expert at MoPD, demonstrating how quantifying the economic value of biodiversity can strengthen its visibility in national accounts and investment decisions, one of the core tools SYMBIOTIC will help scale across government planning processes.

Lavenda Ondere, SYMBIOTIC Project Manager, GGGI Ethiopia and Kenya

GGGI then introduced the project in detail, with Lavenda Ondere, Project Manager for GGGI Ethiopia and Kenya, and Ben Irwin, Sustainable Landscapes Program Lead for GGGI Ethiopia, walking participants through SYMBIOTIC’s four outcome areas, societal mobilization and communication; biodiversity education and knowledge systems; integration of biodiversity into policy, investment, and economic decision-making; and global knowledge sharing and replication. In Ethiopia, GGGI leads Output III, Policies and Private Sector Engagement, helping government and business decision-makers integrate biodiversity into fiscal planning, regulatory tools, and business practice, including through the application of natural capital accounting and biodiversity-aligned investment frameworks.

“SYMBIOTIC gives us the tools to work directly with government and the private sector,” Lavenda reflected, “helping them see biodiversity not as a constraint on growth, but as an asset worth investing in.”

NABU Ethiopia also presented on its role within the project, with Mr. Sisay Asfaw, Executive Director of NABU Ethiopia, outlining the two outputs the organization leads: Awareness and Advocacy, mobilizing youth, media, and communities to shift public conversation on biodiversity; and Education and Citizen Science, working through schools and training programmes to build biodiversity knowledge and engagement at the community level.

Sisay Asfaw, NABU Ethiopia CEO, presenting NABU Ethiopia’s component of the project

Closing the technical program, Kiundu Waweru of Internews presented on the media and communications component of SYMBIOTIC, highlighting how empowering journalists, youth, and local communities as biodiversity change agents will be central to shifting public awareness and behavior.

Biodiversity-rich ecosystems across Ethiopia continue to face mounting pressure from agricultural expansion, infrastructure development, land degradation, and climate change. While Ethiopia’s NBSAP and related policies exist, institutional fragmentation, limited awareness among decision-makers, and the fact that biodiversity’s economic value is rarely quantified have limited its visibility in policy and investment processes. Local communities, youth and women, despite their important roles in biodiversity conservation, continue to face barriers to meaningful participation in decision-making processes.

Seoyun Kim, presenting the Coffee Tree model

Ms. Rahel, Representative from EPA

Over its implementation period, running from October 2024 to January 2031, in the five countries, with total funding of Euro 14,929,711, SYMBIOTIC aims to address these barriers through four interlinked outcomes, increased public awareness and mobilization of media, youth, and communities as change agents; strengthened biodiversity education and knowledge systems, including citizen science and digital learning platforms; enhanced integration of biodiversity into policy and investment planning through tools like natural capital accounting; and improved knowledge sharing and replication of successful approaches internationally.

Participants at the national kick-off agreed on the importance of close coordination between government institutions, implementing partners, and communities as the project moves into its first phase of activities in Ethiopia.

Read more about the SYMBIOTIC project here.

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Category: Press Releases | News

Thematic Areas: Sustainable Landscapes | Green Investment | Climate Action

Country: Ethiopia, Kenya