Shibbir Ahmed, New York – The United Nations’ 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) is set to begin on Monday, October 19, in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, bringing global attention to efforts to halt biodiversity loss and protect nature by 2030.
Running through October 30, the conference is expected to serve as a critical milestone in assessing global progress toward the ambitious targets set under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. World leaders will face growing pressure to demonstrate how far their countries have progressed in translating environmental commitments into concrete action.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly warned against humanity’s destructive impact on nature and called for urgent action to reverse biodiversity loss. The Yerevan conference is expected to place accountability, implementation and international cooperation at the centre of discussions.
Adopted in 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework provides a global roadmap for protecting and restoring nature. One of its most prominent goals is to conserve at least 30 percent of the world’s land, inland waters and marine areas by 2030, an objective widely known as the “30 by 30” target. The framework also calls for restoring degraded ecosystems, reducing pollution, reforming environmentally harmful subsidies and increasing financial resources for biodiversity conservation.
Under the agreement, countries have committed to mobilising at least $200 billion annually from public and private sources for biodiversity-related initiatives by 2030. It also sets a target of increasing international biodiversity finance for developing countries, which often face significant funding and technical constraints.
Despite growing international commitments, progress towards the 2030 biodiversity targets remains uneven, raising concerns about whether countries can meet their obligations within the remaining timeframe.
Assessments of conservation efforts indicate that current progress is insufficient to achieve the 30 by 30 target. Funding shortages, limited technical capacity, gaps in monitoring and data collection, and economic incentives that contribute to environmental damage continue to undermine conservation efforts.
According to a Reuters report, existing commitments and current progress could bring approximately 27 percent of the world’s land and inland waters under conservation by 2030. For marine areas, the projected figure is around 12 percent.
The gap between global commitments and implementation is expected to be a major focus of discussions in Yerevan, with delegates examining how governments can accelerate action and strengthen accountability.
Securing adequate funding for biodiversity protection is expected to be a key issue at COP17. The global target of mobilising $200 billion annually by 2030 will require stronger international cooperation, increased financial flows to developing countries and reforms to subsidies that harm nature.
Another important issue is the implementation of the Cali Fund, established to support the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the commercial use of digital sequence information on genetic resources.
The initiative aims to ensure that a portion of the benefits generated through the use of such information contributes to biodiversity conservation, including in countries and communities that play an important role in protecting natural resources. Developing effective mechanisms to distribute these benefits fairly will be important in building trust and ensuring that conservation efforts receive sustainable financial support.
Turning Commitments into ActionCOP17 is expected to provide an opportunity for countries to assess progress, identify implementation gaps and determine what additional measures are needed to achieve the 2030 targets.
Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, has stressed the importance of coordinated international action to address existing shortcomings and accelerate implementation.
The conference will also test the willingness of governments to move beyond declarations and establish practical measures that can deliver measurable results. The outcome of COP17 could help shape international cooperation, biodiversity financing and accountability in the years leading up to 2030.
Ultimately, however, achieving the global biodiversity targets will depend on political commitment, adequate funding, effective monitoring and the ability of governments to translate promises into action before the deadline.
