Yerevan (Armenia), Oct 19: With a new UN report showing where the world stands in delivering on its commitments to address biodiversity loss and four years remaining to achieve the 2030 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), representatives of governments, indigenous peoples and local communities and stakeholders gathered in Yerevan on Monday for the 2026 UN Biodiversity Conference.
Yerevan marks the halfway point between the Framework’s historic adoption in 2022 and the 2030 deadline for meeting its ambitious set of interconnected targets. The new global report on collective progress, State of Biodiversity Action, reveals strong engagement with the Framework: nearly 90 per cent of parties have set national targets, more than 70 per cent have submitted national reports, and action is underway across all 23 targets.
However, implementation remains insufficient, with fewer than half of national targets assessed by parties as on track. The need for accelerating implementation will run across the 2026 UN Biodiversity Conference, consisting of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 17) and meetings of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (MOPs 12 and 6, respectively).
Priorities include assessing collective progress and strengthening support for implementation, advancing science and policy guidance, addressing the financial and economic conditions shaping biodiversity outcomes, strengthening biosafety and advancing the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
The 2026 UN Biodiversity Conference that will last till October 30 includes the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity and meetings of the Parties to the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols (CP-MOP 12 and NP-MOP 6). At COP 17, parties will undertake the first global review of collective progress alongside decisions on protecting biodiversity and its sustainable use and addressing the drivers of biodiversity loss.
Enabling faster action through mobilising finance, capacity-building and cooperation constitutes another focus of work, in addition to work undertaken to strengthen the role and participation of indigenous peoples and local communities. CP-MOP 12 will focus on strengthening the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol, including through updating guidance on risk assessment and management and stronger capacities for informed biosafety decision-making. NP-MOP 6 will advance implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing with work on monitoring, capacity support and cooperation, as well as institutional effectiveness.
Together, the outcomes of the three meetings will advance the objectives of the Convention and its Protocols and help accelerate action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss through 2030 and beyond. Beyond the formal negotiations, the conference will bring together actors from across society working to advance biodiversity action.
Through high-level gatherings and initiatives, stakeholders from across sectors, including science, finance, business, cities, indigenous peoples and local communities, and youth will come together to share ideas and advance solutions. These exchanges will help strengthen partnerships and mobilise the whole-of-society action needed to deliver on global biodiversity commitments.
“Four years ago, we agreed an ambitious global agreement for nature. In Yerevan, halfway between the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and 2030, we must renew our collective commitment and focus on its delivery,” said Hambardzum Matevosyan, COP 17 President and Minister of Environment of the Republic of Armenia.
“We welcome the world to Armenia for the 2026 UN Biodiversity Conference. As COP 17 President, I am confident that through inclusive and constructive cooperation, parties can work together, find common ground and deliver for nature for people around the world.” “Yerevan is about accelerating action to protect nature,” said Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
“Protecting biodiversity is not separate from protecting our economies. Our food, water, health and livelihoods all depend on healthy ecosystems. In 2022, the world agreed on a plan to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Four years on, we know where we are, where the gaps are and that we are not moving fast enough. Yerevan must mark a turning point in our journey to 2030, putting us on a faster path to meeting the biodiversity targets and achieving our vision of living in harmony with nature,” Schomaker added.
IANS