The UN Biodiversity Conference will run in Yerevan from October 19 to October 30, marking the halfway point in efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss this decade. “Halfway to 2030, Yerevan is our moment of accountability,” United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres said.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, contains 23 targets for 2030 and four longer-term goals for 2050.
The Framework addresses land and marine degradation, unsustainable exploitation of species, climate change, pollution and invasive species.
Almost 90% of the 196 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity have established national biodiversity targets.
Close to 60% have developed national biodiversity strategies and action plans, while more than 70% have submitted progress reports.
However, fewer than half of the national targets assessed by countries are on track.
COP17 will conduct the first global review of collective progress under the Framework, identify implementation gaps and consider measures needed to accelerate action.
Financing will be central to negotiations. The Framework calls for biodiversity funding from all sources to reach at least $200 billion annually by 2030, including $30 billion in international finance.
Governments will also discuss practical arrangements for the Cali Fund, which seeks to ensure fair benefit-sharing from the commercial use of digital genetic information.
Armenia Permanent Representative to the UN Paruyr Hovhannisyan said COP17 should move beyond reviewing progress and focus on implementation. “We cannot treat 2030 as a distant deadline,” Hovhannisyan said.
“Decisions taken in Yerevan must help close the gap between commitments and results on the ground.”
Countries will consider stronger monitoring systems, improved data collection and greater technical cooperation.
Progress will also require changes extending beyond environment ministries, including reforms covering finance, businesses, consumption and subsidies or incentives that damage nature.
Armenia Environment Minister and Incoming COP17 President Hambardzum Matevosyan said the Conference must determine “where we stand, what is working, where progress is falling short and what must change”.
Convention on Biological Diversity Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker said countries already understood the scale of the challenge.
“We know where we stand. We know where the gaps are,” Schomaker said. “Now, we must work together to close them.”
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
