Just how far have countries come in a global effort to protect and restore the natural world? That question will be front and centre as representatives from more than 190 nations gather in Yerevan, Armenia for a major United Nations conference on biodiversity.
During the gathering, which begins on 19 October, officials will for the first time formally review progress on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Adopted in 2022, the landmark international agreement is designed to stem what experts call a human-driven nature crisis in which 1 million species are being pushed towards extinction.
The biodiversity framework includes 23 action-oriented targets, including restoring 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems and conserving 30 per cent of the world’s land and seas by 2030.
With only four years remaining until that deadline, experts say the Armenia conference – formally known as the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity – is shaping up as a critical gathering.
“We’ve seen some encouraging progress but the reality is that most countries are not on pace to meet their biodiversity targets by 2030,” said Doreen Lynn Robinson, Deputy Director of the Ecosystems Division at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “So, COP 17 is a pivotal moment. It’s a chance for countries to supercharge conservation and restoration action by providing the capacity, finance and partnerships that all nations need.”
Here’s a closer look at the issues that will be on the table in Armenia and where countries stand in their efforts to safeguard the natural world.
How are countries living up to their commitments under the Global Biodiversity Framework?
On the whole, there is room for improvement, found a major new report, the State of Biodiversity Action. At the current pace, the world will not meet the framework’s 23 global targets by 2030. And fewer than half of national-level biodiversity targets are on pace to be achieved this decade.
Has there been any encouraging progress?
Yes. More than 90 per cent of Global Biodiversity Framework signatories have set national biodiversity targets and 70 per cent are reporting on them. Experts consider those important first steps towards conservation and restoration.
Also, since 2020, the amount of dry land and inland water bodies under conservation has ticked upwards to 18 per cent, though the rise likely wouldn’t be fast enough to meet the 2030 goal of 30 per cent.
How is the UN Biodiversity Conference aiming to jumpstart conservation and restoration?
Delegates are expected to hold negotiations on what is being called the “Yerevan Pathway”, a wide-ranging plan that would speed up the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Among other things, it would channel an additional US$200 billion a year into biodiversity-related projects. The funding is seen as critical for developing countries, many of which say they cannot afford to dramatically scale up conservation efforts.
In Yerevan, talks will also focus on how to raise financing from the private sector; right now, 90 per cent of nature-related funding comes from public sources.
Is anything else expected to feature prominently in the discussions?
Yes. Delegates are slated to focus on how countries can weave biodiversity conservation and restoration into their broader economic policies, including for sectors like agriculture, trade and finance. That is widely seen as critical to addressing the root causes of biodiversity loss, which is primarily driven by the destruction of natural spaces. (About 75 per cent of Earth’s land surface has been significantly altered by humans)
“Biodiversity policies cannot exist in a vacuum, as they do right now in many countries,” said Robinson. “At COP17, it will be important for countries to figure out how to integrate nature conservation across all aspects of governance.”