CLICK TO READ
Young people are inheriting the world as it is today, and with it, the biodiversity crisis. When UN Secretary-General António Guterres told young biodiversity leaders at the 2022 Global Youth Summit “Young people are leading the way, you are the ones who will solve this” he voiced a sentiment that is widely shared. While many international spaces rightfully emphasize the importance of young people’s meaningful inclusion, an often-overlooked component is funding, especially funding for biodiversity initiatives led by young people for young people.
The report “Ecologies of Empowerment: Why and how to fund youth-led biodiversity action” explores how the lack of funding for youth-led initiatives is holding back youth empowerment, intergenerational equity, and the long-term resilience of biodiversity conservation, and what can be done to chart a new path together.
The Iris Project has spent years supporting youth-led environmental initiatives at the earliest stages, often before they have track records, budgets, and, most importantly, before anyone else is paying attention. This report reflects what we have seen and heard from that work: that the funding gap facing young biodiversity leaders is real, persistent, and solvable.
This report draws on responses from 161 youth-led biodiversity initiatives across 57 countries, collected through an open-access survey. It also draws on interviews with funders and young people, and two public convenings engaging more than 100 participants at major global events. Only complete survey responses were included in the analysis. The majority-youth research team brings together young practitioners and experienced collaborators embedded in philanthropy, civil society, and frontline conservation.
Shifting the resources and narratives that shape who gets funded — and how — sits at the heart of The Iris Project’s work. This research is part of that effort. Across our Enable, Empower, and Advocate pillars, The Iris Project has seen the patterns below play out directly with the young leaders we back. The research confirms what we hear from them.
The insights in this report emerged from deep engagement with funders and youth-led initiatives throughout. The findings and recommendations, however, are those of the author team, and should not necessarily be taken as the expressed views of any consulted party unless specifically cited.
Key findings
- Finding 1
Youth biodiversity initiatives are multifaceted and intentionally build inclusive and progressive next-generation leadership. - Finding 2: Youth initiatives are powered by volunteers and community, especially early on. This builds strong collective ownership – but can lead to burnout and exclusion. Of an estimated 21,000 contributors to surveyed initiatives, 93 percent are volunteers.
- Finding 3: Youth biodiversity groups bring deep knowledge, skills, drive, and strategic thinking to their work – yet barriers to accessing funding persist. For many youth-led initiatives, the barriers to access funding are structural, not capability-based.
- Finding 4: Despite aspirations of organizational sustainability, our youth initiatives are chronically financially insecure and primarily access short, small, and inflexible grants with high administrative burdens. 85 percent of youth initiatives lack adequate funding, and as a result we youth initiatives miss opportunities to make ourselves more sustainable.
- Finding 5: Young people need funders who are committed to our empowerment, within and beyond our relationship.
Publisher: Global Youth Biodiversity Network, The Iris Project, Synchronicity Earth, Global Landscapes Forum
Language: English
Year: 2026
Ecosystem(s): All
Location(s): Global
