Date, venue confirmed as nations convene in Nairobi to continue work on final text of Global Biodiversity Framework to
safeguard nature
With China in the Chair as President, the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will
reconvene Dec. 5 to 17 in Montreal, Canada, where a new world agreement to safeguard nature is expected to be adopted.
The decision was confirmed at a meeting of the Bureau of the CBD on Tuesday and announced as Parties to the CBD convene
in Nairobi (June 21-26) to advance negotiations on an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework that will set the world on
a path to bend the curve on nature loss.
“I thank the Government of Canada, as the host of the Secretariat, for providing a venue in Montreal for this crucial
meeting” said Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. “I want to thank
the Government of China for their flexibility and continued commitment to advancing our path towards an ambitious post
2020 global biodiversity framework. I look forward, with the support of all Parties, to successful outcomes of COP15.”
Originally planned for Kunming, China in 2020, COP15 was postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and later split
into a two-part event. Part 1 was successfully held in Kunming last October. Chinese President XI Jinping and other
State leaders from eight Parties as well as the UN Secretary General made online presentations and speeches, reinforcing
their commitment to address the biodiversity crisis. The Chinese Government, Yunnan province and the city of Kunming
have been working continuously to ensure a successful COP15.
COP15 part 1 was also highlighted by the Kunming Declaration and President Xi Jinping’s announcement that China would take the lead to invest RMB 1.5 billion to establish the Kunming Biodiversity Fund, providing strong political impetus to global biodiversity governance and a solid foundation for the second part of COP
15.
COP 15 President, Minister Huang Runqiu, noted that “China would like to emphasize its continued strong commitment, as
COP President, to work with all Parties and stakeholders to ensure the success of the second part of COP 15, including
the adoption of an effective Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and to promote its delivery throughout its
Presidency.”
“It is with great pride that I can confirm Canada will welcome the world to Montreal in December 2022 for COP15. There
is an urgent need for international partners to halt and reverse the alarming loss of biodiversity worldwide. With up to
one million species currently at risk of extinction worldwide, the world cannot afford to wait any longer for global
action on nature protection. Canada will continue to advocate for international collaboration on an ambitious Post-2020
Global Biodiversity Framework” said the Honourable Steven Guilbeault Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
At Nairobi’s six-day 4th round of negotiations, delegates will continue progress on the GBF, building on the strong work
undertaken in Geneva in March.Key objectives include:Work towards finalization of the GBF text for COP15, setting out the ambition of Parties with respect to outcome goals
and related action targets, towards the 2050 vision of “living in harmony with nature”. These include targets related
conservation, sustainable use and benefit-sharing, as well as addressing drivers of biodiversity loss subsidies and
financeStrengthening the role of Indigenous peoples, local communities, youth and women and other stakeholdersSetting a timeframe for implementation through National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and for regular reviews
of progress to 2030Setting the framework for resource mobilization and other means of implementationhighlighting the contribution of nature to climate change mitigation and adaptation and to other sustainable developing
goalsCharting the pathway to an agreement on the sharing of benefits from Digital Sequencing Information on genetic
resources.
The co-chairs of the negotiations, Francis Ogwalof Uganda and Basilevan Havre of Canada, expressed confidence that
“delegations will come with a mandate for compromise and consensus that will enable them to work through differences in
a constructive way.”About the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Opened for signature in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and entering into force in December 1993, the CBD is
an international treaty for the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity and
the equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources. With 196 Parties, the CBD has near
universal participation among countries. The CBD seeks to address all threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services,
including threats from climate change, through scientific assessments, the development of tools, incentives and
processes, the transfer of technologies and good practices and the full and active involvement of relevant stakeholders
including indigenous peoples and local communities, youth, women, NGOs, sub-national actors and the business community.
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing are supplementary agreements
to the CBD. The Cartagena Protocol, which entered into force 11 September 2003, seeks to protect biodiversity from the
potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. To date, 173 Parties have
ratified the Cartagena Protocol. The Nagoya Protocol aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of
genetic resources in a fair and equitable way, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by appropriate
transfer of relevant technologies. Entering into force 12 October 2014, it has been ratified by 135 Parties.
Website: cbd.int
Twitter: @UNBiodiversity
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