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Biodiversity-related projects have seen an increase in international funding in recent years, but remain a low priority compared to other development initiatives, according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The report found total official development finance (ODF) for such projects grew from $7.3 billion in 2015 to $15.4 billion in 2022. That’s still less than what the nearly 200 governments that signed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in December 2022 agreed would be needed to halt biodiversity loss: at least $20 billion annually by 2025, and $30 billion annually by 2030.

Government funding made up the bulk of the ODF for biodiversity-related projects in the OECD report, which is welcome news, Campaign for Nature (CfN), a U.S.-based advocacy group, said in a statement.

“We welcome the increase in international biodiversity finance reported in 2022 but that good news is tempered by a range of concerns,” Mark Opel, finance lead at CfN, told Mongabay.

One concern, CfN notes, is that funding specifically for biodiversity as a principal objective declined from $4.6 billion in 2015 to $3.8 billion in 2022. CfN reviewed hundreds of projects from 2022, which formed the source for the OECD’s report, and found that many either had vague descriptions or focused on other policies like agriculture but were counted toward protecting or restoring nature.

“We need to see more emphasis on funding with a primary focus on biodiversity,” Opel said. “So-called ‘principal’ funding that has biodiversity as its primary goal continues to be down since its 2015 peak. Increases in this type of funding are essential to meet the goals of the GBF … These goals cannot be met through funding with biodiversity as only a ‘significant’ goal that mainstreams biodiversity into projects with other primary goals like humanitarian aid or agriculture.”

The report also found that funding for biodiversity-related activities represent just 2-7% of the total ODF portfolio.

“It is concerning that biodiversity considerations still represent a relatively low share of the total official development assistance,” Markus Knigge, executive director of Germany-based nonprofit foundation Blue Action Fund, told Mongabay. He added it was also problematic that most funding came via loans, which have to be repaid, rather than grants, which are often more appropriate for conservation finance.

CfN says grants are preferable to loans because they don’t add to the debt burden of low-income recipient countries.

At the same time, development funding from major donors such as Germany, France, EU institutions, the U.S. and Japan have been cut in recent years.

“We have seen minimal announcements of new international biodiversity finance since [the GBF signing],” Opel said. “We estimate that only the equivalent of $162 million annually has been pledged since [then], which doesn’t come close to filling the $4.6 billion gap between the $15.4 billion in 2022 and the $20 billion commitment in 2025.”

Banner image: Javan lutung by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was nearly unchanged this week but reached its lowest level in two years.

Thirty-year mortgage rates averaged 6.08% as of Thursday, down from 6.09% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac data.

Average 15-year mortgage rates rose one basis point to 5.16%.

As mortgage rates hover around 6%, potential buyers are tiptoeing back into the market, and some homeowners who bought when interest rates topped 7% are weighing refinancing. Mortgage applications jumped to the highest level in more than two years last week, driven largely by refinancing volumes.

“Given the downward trajectory of rates, refinance activity continues to pick up, creating opportunities for many homeowners to trim their monthly mortgage payment,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement. “Meanwhile, many looking to purchase a home are playing the waiting game to see if rates decrease further as additional economic data is released over the next several weeks.”

Thirty-year mortgage rates have dropped more than a percentage point since May.

Read more: Mortgage and refinance rates today, September 26, 2024: Rates finally decrease

The Pending Home Sales Index, a measure of housing contract activity, rose 0.6% to 70.6 in August, improving slightly from July’s record-low reading, according to the National Association of Realtors. A level of 100 is equal to the amount of contract activity seen in 2001.

“Buyers are finally getting more comfortable with the rate,” said Selma Hepp, chief economist at real estate data provider CoreLogic. “I don’t think that’s going to mean a big boost for home sales this year given how low they’ve been so far, but still, it’s a little bit of improvement.”

Claire Boston is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance.

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