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The IBAT Alliance, a collaboration between four of the world’s largest and most influential conservation organisations announced on June 23, 2025, that its 2024 investment in biodiversity data reached a record level of $2.5 million — an increase from $1.2 million in 2023.
The four organisations that form part of the Alliance are BirdLife International, Conservation International, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
The increase in investment means that vital funds will be reinvested back into three of the world’s most authoritative biodiversity datasets, supporting critical updates and maintenance:
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA)
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
The World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas (WDKBA)
This will ensure access to credible, science-based global biodiversity data for accurate screening and reporting, enabling meaningful action for nature.
“It also helps build a more complete picture of the state of nature globally, enhancing understanding of threats to biodiversity and driving tangible conservation action,” a statement by BirdLife International noted.
According to BirdLife International, this will ensure access to credible, science-based global biodiversity data for accurate screening and reporting, enabling meaningful action for nature.
It will also help build a more complete picture of the state of nature globally, enhancing understanding of threats to biodiversity and driving tangible conservation action.
Another reason why the development is significant as per the statement is that the growth in funds demonstrates that businesses and financial institutions around the world are investing in authoritative biodiversity data and incorporating it into their decision-making.
“This is driving real action on the ground at an ever-increasing scale. By year end, over 200 private sector organisations had used IBAT to access biodiversity data, and in doing so provided critical funds that are used to further their development,” it stated.
The datasets available through IBAT, according to BirdLife International, are used for early risk screening, setting goals and measuring progress towards global biodiversity targets such as those in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
“They support businesses in understanding the impact of their activities on the natural world, in assessing these impacts, as well as dependencies and risks and aligning with regulatory and disclosure requirements,” as per the statement.
“The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is often referred to as the barometer of life — such is its value in assessing the extinction risks facing animals, fungi and plants around the world. Investment from IBAT allows us to maintain the IUCN Red List as a vital resource for governments, businesses and scientists alike. The investment supports the addition of new species groups to the IUCN Red List, updates of previously assessed species and improvements to systems and data,” Grethel Aguilar, director general, IUCN, was quoted in the statement.