Countries that are parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity have begun a two-week meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, to review the first global assessment of progress towards the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The meeting is expected to examine the progress made halfway into the implementation of the historic biodiversity framework adopted in 2022, while negotiating recommendations to accelerate global action ahead of the 2026 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, COP17, scheduled to take place in Yerevan, Armenia, in October.
The deliberations are taking place through two subsidiary bodies of the Convention on Biological Diversity: the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, SBSTTA-28, and the Subsidiary Body on Implementation, SBI-7.
The meetings will provide the scientific, technical and policy foundation for negotiations and decisions at COP17.
A key focus of the Nairobi meetings is the first comprehensive assessment of progress towards the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, known as the State of Biodiversity Action report.
The report is expected to provide evidence for the first Global Review of progress towards the 23 biodiversity targets agreed by countries for achievement by 2030.
According to the assessment, the framework has generated unprecedented global engagement for biodiversity conservation. However, current efforts remain insufficient to achieve the agreed targets without a significant acceleration and scaling up of action.
The final version of the progress report to be considered at COP17 is expected to be made public shortly after the Nairobi meetings.
The Nairobi negotiations will also consider a wide range of scientific and technical issues, including marine and coastal biodiversity, protected and conserved areas, sustainable wildlife management and synthetic biology.
Parties will further examine how scientific knowledge can better inform decision-making under the Convention, including through the Business and Biodiversity Assessment published earlier this year by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
The SBI-7 negotiations will focus on the policies, financing and implementation measures required to close gaps and accelerate progress towards the global biodiversity targets.
Issues on the agenda include resource mobilisation, digital sequence information on genetic resources, capacity building, biodiversity mainstreaming, and implementation of the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols.
Speaking on the significance of the meeting, the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Astrid Schomaker, said the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework had generated unprecedented global engagement for biodiversity.
She said the first Global Report would provide countries with a shared evidence base on the implementation of the framework, but stressed that evidence must translate into stronger action.
“The negotiations beginning today are an opportunity for Parties to consider this evidence as they build consensus on the first Global Review and the decisions that will need to be taken to increase ambition, accelerate and scale up action for biodiversity at COP 17,” Schomaker said.
The Chair of SBSTTA-28, Jean Bruno Mikissa of Gabon, said the scientific and technical recommendations from the Nairobi meeting would serve as a bridge between scientific evidence and political decision-making.
He said the responsibility of the body was to ensure that scientific inputs and recommendations were robust, technically sound and responsive to the needs of countries preparing for COP17.
Also, the Chair of SBI-7, Clarissa Souza Della Nina of Brazil, described the meeting as a critical milestone on the road to COP17.
She said the negotiations could shape the global biodiversity agenda through 2030 and beyond, particularly in the areas of financing, harmful incentives, biodiversity mainstreaming across economic sectors and government levels, biodiversity education and capacity building.
Della Nina said the outcome of the Nairobi meeting would help determine the level of ambition expected at COP17 and contribute to accelerating collective action for biodiversity conservation worldwide.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted in 2022 as a global plan to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
It contains 23 targets covering areas including ecosystem restoration, conservation, sustainable use of biodiversity, financing and the participation of indigenous peoples and local communities.
The framework is particularly significant for Africa, a continent that hosts some of the world’s most important ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots but continues to face mounting threats from habitat loss, climate change, pollution, illegal wildlife trade and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources.
For African countries, the negotiations are expected to further highlight the need for increased biodiversity financing, stronger conservation systems, improved capacity and greater support for communities whose livelihoods depend directly on natural ecosystems.
The recommendations emerging from the Nairobi meetings will feed into the negotiations and decisions expected at COP17 in Yerevan, where countries will undertake the first Global Review of collective progress towards the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The review is expected to determine whether current global action is sufficient to achieve the 2030 biodiversity targets and identify the measures needed to close implementation gaps.
By Dare Akogun
