On 21st of October 2024 the 16th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) began in Cali, Colombia.

To remind our readers on what they are discussing, this blog revisits a previous blog we wrote that summarises what is included in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which forms the basis of this conference and was agreed to by the parties to the Convention in Montreal, Canada, in 2022.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

The Framework declares that –

“Biodiversity is fundamental to human well-being and a healthy planet, and economic prosperity for all people, including for living well in balance and in harmony with Mother Earth, we depend on it for food, medicines, energy, clean air and water, security from natural disasters and cultural inspiration, and it supports all systems of life on earth.”

Yet it recognises the critical threats to biodiversity summarised in particular in the IPBES report of 2019 on the Global Biodiversity Outlook, quoted above, and its estimate of a million species at risk of extinction.

The Framework aims to:

“catalyze, enable and galvanize urgent and transformative action by Governments, subnational and local governments and with the involvement of all of society, to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.”

The rights, involvement, knowledge and participation of indigenous peoples are heavily emphasised throughout.

“This is a framework for all – for the whole of government and the whole of society. Its success requires political will and recognition at the highest level of government and relies on action and cooperation by all levels of government and by all actors of society.”

There is strong emphasis on human rights, intergenerational equity, participation by youth, women and girls, and embracing formal and informal education.

“The vision of the Framework is a world living in harmony with nature where :”By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people”.

“The mission of the Framework for the period up to 2030, towards the 2050 vision is:
To take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss to put nature on a path to recovery for the benefit of people and planet by conserving and sustainably using biodiversity , and ensuring the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources, while providing the necessary means of implementation.”

The four long-term goals for 2050 for the Framework are:

GOAL A

The integrity, connectivity and resilience of all ecosystems are maintained, enhanced, or restored, substantially increasing the area of natural ecosystems by 2050;

Human induced extinction of known threatened species is halted, and, by 2050, extinction rate and risk of all species are reduced tenfold and the abundance of native wild species is increased to healthy and resilient levels;

The genetic diversity within populations of wild and domesticated species, is maintained, safeguarding their adaptive potential.

GOAL B

Biodiversity is sustainably used and managed and nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, are valued, maintained and enhanced, with those currently in decline being restored, supporting the achievement of sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations by 2050.

GOAL C

The monetary and non-monetary benefits from the utilization of genetic resources, and digital sequence information on genetic resources, and of traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, as applicable, are shared fairly and equitably, including, as appropriate with indigenous peoples and local communities, and substantially increased by 2050, while ensuring traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources is appropriately protected, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, in accordance with internationally agreed access and benefit-sharing instruments.

GOAL D

Adequate means of implementation, including financial resources, capacity-building, technical and scientific cooperation, and access to and transfer of technology to fully implement the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework are secured and equitably accessible to all Parties, especially developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, progressively closing the biodiversity finance gap of 700 billion dollars per year, and aligning financial flows with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.

These goals are then backed up by 23 action-oriented global targets for urgent action, to be initiated immediately, and completed by 2030. The specific nature of these targets should make them easier to track and monitor than their unsuccessful predecessors from the COP at Aichi in Japan. The following are indicative summaries only. The targets cover –

Target 1 Biodiversity areas to be managed so as to bring losses of areas of high ecological integrity close to zero by 2030.

Target 2 By 2030, at least 30% of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water and coastal and marine ecosystems are under effective restoration.

Target 3 Conservation of 30% of terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine areas especially areas of importance for biodiversity.

Target 4 Urgent action to halt human induced extinctions of threatened species and recovery and conservation of species.

Target 5 Safe and legal harvesting and trade of wild species.

Target 6 Eliminate or reduce impacts of invasive alien species on biodiversity.

Target 7 Reduce pollution risks and negative impact of pollution from all sources by 2030 to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity, including reducing excess nutrients by at least half, and reducing the risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half.

Target 8 Minimise the impact of climate change and ocean acidification on biodiversity.

Target 9 Management and use of wild species to be sustainable, to benefit people dependent on biodiversity.

Target 10 Areas under agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry managed sustainably to benefit biodiversity.

Target 11 Restore, maintain and enhance ecosystem services, such as air, water, climate, soil health, pollination and reduction of disease risk.

Target 12 Increase green and blue spaces in urban and densely populated areas, promoting biodiversity and human well-being.

Target 13 Legal, policy administrative and capacity-building measures to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources, as well as traditional knowledge.

Target 14 Integration of biodiversity into all policy areas, policies planning, regulations and development.

Target 15 Legal, administrative or policy measures to encourage business, especially large and transnational companies and financial institutions to monitor, assess and disclose risks dependencies and impacts on biodiversity, provide information to consumers and report on compliance.

Target 16 Promotion of sustainable consumption choices.

Target 17 Strengthening capacity for biosafety and handling biotechnology.

Target 18 Identify by 2025 and eliminate, phase out or reform incentives and subsidies harmful to biodiversity, reducing them by US$500 billion per year by 2030.

Target 19 Increase level of financial resources to implement national biodiversity strategies, by 2030 mobilising $200 billion per year, with contributions from developed countries and voluntarily assumed obligations from others, to $20 billion per year by 2025 and $30 billion per year from 2030.

Target 20 Capacity building and technology transfer.

Target 21 Access to best available data, information and knowledge.

Target 22 Inclusive and gender-responsive participation in decision taking , participation by indigenous peoples, women and girls, children and youth, persons with disabilities, and ensuring full protection of environmental human rights defenders.

Target 23 Women and girls to have equal opportunities and capacity to contribute to the objectives of the Convention.

What is in the Global Biodiversity Framework?

On 21st of October 2024 the 16th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) began in Cali, Colombia.