External event 15 Oct, 2023
CBD Nairobi meetings 2023
As a leading provider of biodiversity knowledge, tools and standards that help conservation planning, IUCN participated in the CBD meetings in Nairobi, continuing with its engagement with the CBD process to advance the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
After years of negotiations, the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) adopted in December 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and a package of decisions that give effect to its implementation.
The 25th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA25) addressed the mandate given by some of these decisions related to finalizing crucial elements of the framework, such as the monitoring framework, and the inputs needed for the periodic global reviews of progress on implementation, before COP16. Other issues under consideration were: invasive alien species (IAS) and the recent IPBES thematic assessment on IAS, sustainable wildlife management, and biodiversity and climate change.
IUCN followed the negotiations, putting forward its knowledge products, tools and the wealth of experience vested in the Union providing scientifically-sound inputs for the implementation of the targets, and assessing progress towards meeting them, in line with IUCN Resolution 7.116.
At this first meeting after the adoption of GBF, and with only 7 years left to halt the loss of biodiversity, we stress the need to:
- Take urgent action, for all and by all: Achieving the Global Biodiversity Framework will require massive, unprecedented transformation. Success will only be achieved if all actors and sectors contribute to its implementation, correct course and achieve an extraordinary outcome - one needed for people and nature.
- Assess needs and build from there: Rapid action to implement the GBF must be based on actual needs. Assessing needs – capacity, knowledge, data, resources – must be a continuous and adaptative exercise. In order to fill gaps, we must first rely on the knowledge, data and resources that already exist and that have proven effective to support conservation action. This will allow us to move swiftly into action.
- Keep national ambition high: As countries update their NBSAPs and translate the GBF to their national contexts, high ambition must prevail. Not only do we need “all hands-on deck” but we cannot lower our determination to halt and reverse biodiversity loss to achieve a nature-positive world by 2030.
Specific recommendations for SBSTTA25 can be found in IUCN's position paper.
SBSTTA25 was followed by the resumed sessions of COP15 and the 10th and 4th meetings of the Parties to the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols, respectively. After 3 years, spanning 3 continents, the COP15 and the COP-MOPs finally drew to a close.
In addition to the negotiations, IUCN hosted a number of side-events to showcase our work and support Parties in the implementation of the framework.
