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Updated Dec 20, 2022

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Historic UN Biodiversity Agreement reached

The 15th session of the United Nation's Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) saw 188 governments come together in Montreal, Canada to agree on a historic set of goals to guide global action on biodiversity.

This landmark agreement saw nations adopt the Kunming-Montreal Global Diversity Framework, comprising of four goals and 23 targets to achieve by 2030 to halt and reverse nature loss.

The clear and solid framework also consists of monitoring, reporting, and review arrangements to track progress on the goals and targets, as well as a robust resource mobilisation package.

Kunming-Montreal Global Diversity Framework - Goals

The framework has four overarching global goals:

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

  • 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, are shared fairly and equitably, including with indigenous peoples and local communities, and substantially increased by 2050.
  • 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 co-operation, 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. This will help to progressively close the biodiversity finance gap of $700 billion per year, and align financial flows with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.

Biodiversity global targets

1. Ensure all areas are under participatory integrated biodiversity inclusive spatial planning and/or effective management processes addressing land and sea use change, to bring the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity, close to zero by 2030, while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.

2. Ensure by 2030, that at least 30% of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine ecosystems are under effect restoration, to enhance biodiveristy and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity.

3. Ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30% of terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures. This must recognise indigenous and traditional territories, while ensuring sustainable use is fully consistent with conservation outcomes, recognizing and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities including over their traditional territories.

4. Ensure urgent management actions, to halt human induced extinction of known threatened species and for the recovery and conservation of species, in particular threatened species, to significantly reduce extinction risk. Also maintain and restore the genetic diversity within and between populations of native, wild and domesticated species to maintain their adaptive potential, including through in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable management practices, and effectively manage human-wildlife interactions to minimize human-wildlife conflict for coexistence.

5. Ensure the use, harvesting and trade of wild species is sustainable, safe and legal, preventing overexploitation, minimizing impacts on non-target species and ecosystems, and reducing the risk of pathogen spill-over, applying the ecosystem approach, while respecting and protecting customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.

6. Eliminate, minimize, reduce and or mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species on biodiversity and ecosystem services by identifying and managing pathways of the introduction of alien species, preventing the introduction and establishment of priority invasive alien species, reducing the rates of introduction and establishment of other known or potential invasive alien species by at least 50% by 2030. This includes eradicating or controlling invasive alien species especially in priority sites such as islands.

7. Reduce pollution risks and the negative impact of pollution from all sources, by 2030, to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, considering cumulative effects. This includes:

  • reducing excess nutrients lost to the environment by at least half including through more efficient nutrient cycling and use;
  • reducing the overall risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half including through integrated pest management, taking into account food security and livelihoods; and
  • preventing, reducing, and working towards eliminating plastic pollution.

8. Minimize the impact of climate change and ocean acidification on biodiversity and increase its resilience through mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction actions, including through nature-based solution and/or ecosystem-based approaches, while minimizing negative and fostering positive impacts of climate action on biodiversity.

9. Ensure that the management and use of wild species are sustainable, providing social, economic and environmental benefits for people, especially those in vulnerable situations and those most dependent on biodiversity. This will be done through sustainable biodiversity-based activities, products and services that enhance biodiversity, and protecting and encouraging customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.

10. Ensure areas under agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry are managed sustainably.

11. Restore, maintain and enhance nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, such as regulation of air, water, and climate, soil health, pollination and reduction of disease risk, as well as protection from natural hazards and disasters, through nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches for the benefit of all people and nature.

12. Significantly increase the area and quality and connectivity of, access to, and benefits from green and blue spaces in urban and densely populated areas sustainably, by mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and ensure biodiversity-inclusive urban planning, enhancing native biodiversity, ecological connectivity and integrity, and improving human health and well-being and connection to nature and contributing to inclusive and sustainable urbanization and the provision of ecosystem functions and services.

13. Take effective legal, policy, administrative and capacity-building measures at all levels, to ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits that arise from the utilization of genetic resources and from digital sequence information on genetic resources, as well as traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, and facilitating appropriate access to genetic resources,and by 2030 facilitating a significant increase of the benefits shared, in accordance with applicable international access and benefit-sharing instruments.

14. Ensure the full integration of biodiversity and its multiple values into policies, regulations, planning and development processes, poverty eradication strategies, strategic environmental assessments, environmental impact assessments and, national accounting, within and across all levels of government and across all sectors. In particular those with significant impacts on biodiversity, progressively aligning all relevant public and private activities, fiscal and financial flows with the goals and targets of this framework.

15. Take legal, administrative or policy measures to encourage and enable business, and in particular to ensure that large and transnational companies and financial institutions:

  • regularly monitor, assess, and transparently disclose their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity including with requirements for all large as well as transnational companies and financial institutions along their operations, supply and value chains and portfolios;
  • provide information needed to consumers to promote sustainable consumption patterns;
  • report on compliance with access and benefit-sharing regulations and measures,

in order to progressively reduce negative impacts on biodiversity, increase positive impacts, reduce biodiversity-related risks to business and financial institutions, and promote actions to ensure sustainable patterns of production.

16. Ensure people are encouraged and enabled to make sustainable consumption choices including by establishing supportive policy, legislative or regulatory frameworks, improving education and access to relevant and accurate information and alternatives. By 2030, reduce the global footprint of consumption in an equitable manner, halve global food waste, significantly reduce overconsumption and substantially reduce waste generation.

17. Establish, strengthen capacity for, and implement in all countries in biosafety measures as set out in the Convention on Biological Diversity and measures for the handling of biotechnology and distribution of its benefits.

18. By 2025, identify and eliminate, phase out or reform incentives, including subsidies harmful for biodiversity, in a proportionate, just, fair, effective and equitable way, while substantially and progressively reducing them by at least $500 billion per year by 2030, starting with the most harmful incentives, and scale up positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

19. Substantially and progressively increase the level of financial resources from all sources, to implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans, by 2030 mobilizing at least $200 billion per year

20. Strengthen capacity-building and development, access to and transfer of technology, and promote development of and access to innovation and technical and scientific cooperation, to meet the needs for effective implementation, particularly in developing countries, of the goals and targets of the framework.

21. Ensure the best available data, information and knowledge, are accessible to decision makers, practitioners and the public to guide effective and equitable governance, integrated and participatory management of biodiversity, and to strengthen communication, awareness-raising, education, monitoring, research and knowledge management.

22. Ensure the full, equitable, inclusive, effective and gender-responsive representation and participation in decision-making, and access to justice and information related to biodiversity by indigenous peoples and local communities, respecting their cultures and their rights over lands, territories, resources, and traditional knowledge, as well as by women and girls, children and youth, and persons with disabilities and ensure the full protection of environmental human rights defenders.

23. Ensure gender equality in the implementation of the framework through a gender-responsive approach where all women and girls have equal opportunity and capacity to contribute to the objectives of the Convention, by recognizing their equal rights and access to land and natural resources and their full, equitable, meaningful and informed participation and leadership at all levels of action, engagement, policy and decision-making related to biodiversity.

Next steps

All governments who participated in COP15 have agreed to these goals and targets so it is now time for them to start implementing the frameowkr through domestic and international measures and legislation.

The next COP will take place in 2024 and before then all countries must prepare updated National Biodiversity Finance Strategies. The next COP meetings will consider if the cumulative impact of national actions is sufficient to reach the global goals and targets for 2030 and 2050.

As well as policy actions countries and multilateral financial institutions will also now work on a fast start to the mobilisation of financing to enable these new biodiversity targets to be met.


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