Introduction
The Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (the Framework)Footnote 1 was adopted at the Fifteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)Footnote 2 on December 19, 2022. Despite the efforts made under the CBD, biodiversity loss has continued at an alarming rate, and the targets set under the Convention's Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 were not fully achieved. In 2018, the CBD Parties therefore adopted a decision to develop a post-2020 global biodiversity framework to guide international efforts towards the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity over the next decade.Footnote 3 The Framework, the adoption of which was delayed by two years by the COVID-19 pandemic, succeeds and replaces the 2011–2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and its accompanying Aichi Targets. The Framework includes four overarching goals and twenty-three accompanying targets to be achieved by 2030, together with four long-term goals to achieve the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.
Background
In the 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) concluded that global biodiversity was in a state of rapid deterioration, as indicated by several trends including a “global rate of species extinction [that] is already at least tens to hundreds of times higher than the average rate over the past 10 million years and is accelerating.”Footnote 4 The IPBES also found that, “Nature can be conserved, restored and used sustainably while other global society goals are simultaneously met through urgent and concerted efforts fostering transformative change.”Footnote 5
The Framework expressly responds to the IPBES assessment and, building on the experience with the 2011–2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, “sets out an ambitious plan to implement broad-based action to bring about a transformation in our societies' relationship with biodiversity by 2030, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, and ensure that, by 2050, the shared vision of living in harmony with nature is fulfilled.”Footnote 6
The Framework
The Framework provides a strategic plan for the implementation of the CBD and its three protocols.Footnote 7 The Framework is also expressed to be “a contribution to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”Footnote 8 In structure, the Framework takes a broadly similar approach to the 2011–2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and its Aichi Targets in setting out an overall rationale followed by a statement of goals and targets.
The purpose of the Framework is “to halt and reverse biodiversity loss,” including through the “full implementation of the three objectives of the [CBD] in a balanced manner.”Footnote 9 The three objectives of the CBD are: (1) the conservation of biological diversity; (2) the sustainable use of its components; and (3) the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.Footnote 10 The Framework includes a list of “considerations” to guide the interpretation and implementation of the Framework's “Vision, Mission, Goals and Targets.”Footnote 11 These include several well-established principles of international environmental law, including those contained in the 1992 Rio Declaration,Footnote 12 such as the ecosystem approach and intergenerational equity. Other listed considerations include acknowledging the contribution of Indigenous Peoples as the custodians of biodiversity, and the “One Health Approach,” which draws attention to the interlinkages between human health and biodiversity conservation. The Framework also draws an express connection with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable DevelopmentFootnote 13 and its accompanying Sustainable Development Goals (now known simply as the Global Goals).Footnote 14 The Framework observes that progress towards the Global Goals is necessary to achieve the goals and targets in the Framework, and likewise that the Framework itself is a contribution to the achievement of the Global Goals.
The Framework is stated to be “built around a theory of change which recognizes that urgent policy action is required globally, regionally and nationally” to achieve sustainable development, to address the drivers of biodiversity loss, and to achieve the Convention's Vision, which is “living harmony with nature by 2050,”Footnote 15 so that “by 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.”Footnote 16 Supporting the Vision is an interim 2030 Mission, which includes a pledge to “take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss to put nature on a path to recovery.”Footnote 17
There are four long-term goals in respect of the 2050 Vision for biodiversity set out in the Framework.Footnote 18 Goal A incorporates three objectives: (1) the maintenance, enhancement and restoration of natural ecosystems by 2050; (2) halting the extinction of threatened species, a tenfold reduction in the extinction rate and risk of all species; and (3) increasing the abundance of wild species to healthy and resilient levels. Goal B calls for the sustainable use of biodiversity for the benefit of present and future generations. Goal C concerns the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the utilization of genetic resources. Goal D seeks adequate financial resources to support the implementation of the Framework and “progressively closing the biodiversity finance gap of $700 billion per year.”Footnote 19
The largest component of the Framework is the section that follows the Goals, which sets out twenty-three “action-oriented global targets for urgent action over the decade to 2030.”Footnote 20 The global Targets for 2030 are grouped under three themes: (1) reducing threats to biodiversity; (2) meeting people's needs through sustainable use and benefit-sharing; and (3) tools and solutions for implementation and mainstreaming. The Targets vary in their formulation, with some more specific and measurable than others. An example of a precise and calculable target is Target 3, which implements the “30 by 30” conservation concept.Footnote 21 Target 3 provides that the parties will, “Ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas, and of marine and coastal 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.”Footnote 22 An example of a less-focused and less-quantifiable target is Target 8: “Minimize the impact of climate change and ocean acidification on biodiversity and increase its resilience through mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction actions.”Footnote 23
The final sections of the Framework address issues relating to implementation, support mechanisms, responsibility and transparency, and communication and awareness of the Framework. Communication and awareness of the value of biodiversity and the content of the Framework is to be achieved by, among other things, “integrating transformative education on biodiversity into formal, non-formal and informal educational programs.”Footnote 24 In relation to responsibility and transparency, the Framework refers to the need for a “effective mechanisms for planning, monitoring, reporting and review” that form “an agreed, synchronized and cyclical system.”Footnote 25 The elements of this system include national biodiversity strategies and action plans, national reports, global analysis of information in national biodiversity strategies and action plans (including national targets), and global review of collective progress in implementing the Framework. The Framework cross-refers to COP Decision 15/6 on “Mechanisms for planning, monitoring, reporting and review,”Footnote 26 which includes detailed modalities for enhancing the use of national biodiversity strategies and action plans as the main instrument for implementing, monitoring, and reviewing the implementation of the CBD and the Framework.
Significance
The Framework is among a growing collection of international instruments that have articulated goals and targets to address environmental and broader sustainable development objectives. In comparison with the Aichi Targets, the Framework is more ambitious, comprehensive, precise, and measurable. As such, the Framework may be more amenable to effective implementation that the Aichi Targets, in part because it aims to strengthen and sharpen national biodiversity strategies and action plans and utilises enhanced mechanisms of monitoring and review to track progress towards the achievements of its Goals and Targets. However, as with its Aichi Targets, the provision of adequate funding (e.g., for protected area management), capacity-building, and the transfer of technology will be essential in order to realize the Framework's purpose.
CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Fifteenth meeting – Part II
Montreal, Canada, 7–19 December 2022
Agenda item 9A
DECISION ADOPTED BY THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
15/4. Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
The Conference of the Parties,
Recalling its decision 14/34, in which it adopted the preparatory process for the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and decided to establish an open-ended intersessional working group to support its preparation,
Noting also the outcomes of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, of the regional and thematic consultations and workshops conducted based on decision 14/34 and of the intersessional work conducted on digital sequence information on genetic resources,Footnote 1
Noting the outcomes of the eleventh meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions, of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth meetings of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and of the third meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation,Footnote 2
Expressing its gratitude to the following Governments and organizations for hosting these consultations, as well as for their financial contributions: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czechia, Kenya, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Uruguay, as well as the African Union, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme and Tourism Montreal
Expressing its gratitude to the Co-Chairs of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, Mr. Basile van Havre (Canada) and Mr. Francis Ogwal (Uganda), for supporting the development of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,
Welcoming the submissions by Parties, other Governments, indigenous peoples and local communities, United Nations organizations and programmes, other multilateral environmental agreements, subnational governments, cities and other local authorities, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, women's groups, youth groups, the business and finance community, the scientific community, academia, faith-based organizations, representatives of sectors related to or dependent on biodiversity, citizens at large, and other stakeholders and observers providing views on the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework,
Alarmed by the continued loss of biodiversity and the threat that this poses to nature and human well-being,
Emphasizing therefore the need for a balanced and enhanced implementation of all provisions of the Convention, including its three objectives,
1. Adopts the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, as contained in the annex to the present decision;
2. Notes that the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will be supported by the following decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its fifteenth meeting and affirms that these decisions are of equal standing to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;
(a) Decision 15/5 on the monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;
(b) Decision 15/6 on planning, monitoring, reporting and review;
(c) Decision 15/7 on resource mobilization;
(d) Decision 15/8 on capacity-building and development and technical and scientific cooperation;
(e) Decision 15/9 on digital sequence information on genetic resources;
(f) Decision 15/13 on cooperation with other Conventions and international organizations.
3. Also notes that the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will be supported by relevant decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocols, in particular the Implementation Plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Capacity-building Action Plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety;Footnote 3
4. Urges Parties and other Governments, with the support of intergovernmental and other organizations, as appropriate, to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and, in particular, to enable participation at all levels of government, with a view to fostering the full and effective contributions of women, youth, indigenous peoples and local communities, civil society organizations, the private and financial sectors, and stakeholders from all other sectors, to that end;
5. Invites Parties and other Governments to cooperate at the transboundary, regional and international levels in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;
6. Reaffirms its expectation that Parties and other Governments will ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities are respected and given effect to in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;
7. Invites the General Assembly of the United Nations to acknowledge the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and to take into account the progress in its implementation when monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals;
8. Decides that the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework should be used as a strategic plan for the implementation of the Convention and its Protocols, its bodies and its Secretariat over the period 2022–2030 and that, in this regard, the Framework should be used to better align and direct the work of the various bodies of the Convention and its Protocols, its Secretariat and its budget according to the goals and targets of the Framework;
9. Requests the Executive Secretary to conduct a strategic review and analysis of the programmes of work of the Convention in the context of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to facilitate its implementation, and, on the basis of this analysis, to prepare draft updates of these programmes of work for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and by the Subsidiary Body on Implementation, as appropriate, at meetings during the period between the fifteenth and sixteenth meetings of the Conference of the Parties, and to report on this work to the Conference of the Parties at its sixteenth meeting.
Annex
Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
Section A. Background
1. Biodiversity is fundamental to human well-being, 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, medicine, energy, clean air and water, security from natural disasters as well as recreation and cultural inspiration, and it supports all systems of life on Earth.
2. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework seeks to respond to the Global Assessment Report of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services issued by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES),Footnote 4 the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook,Footnote 5 and many other scientific documents that provide ample evidence that, despite ongoing efforts, biodiversity is deteriorating worldwide at rates unprecedented in human history. As the IPBES global assessment report states:Footnote 6
An average of around 25 per cent of species in assessed animal and plant groups are threatened, suggesting that around 1 million species already face extinction, many within decades, unless action is taken to reduce the intensity of drivers of biodiversity loss. Without such action, there will be a further acceleration in the global rate of species extinction, which is already at least tens to hundreds of times higher than it has averaged over the past 10 million years.
The biosphere, upon which humanity as a whole depends, is being altered to an unparalleled degree across all spatial scales. Biodiversity – the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems – is declining faster than at any time in human history.
Nature can be conserved, restored and used sustainably while other global societal goals are simultaneously met through urgent and concerted efforts fostering transformative change.
The direct drivers of change in nature with the largest global impact have been (starting with those with the most impact) changes in land and sea use, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution and invasion of alien species. Those five direct drivers result from an array of underlying causes, the indirect drivers of change, which are, in turn, underpinned by social values and behaviours (…) The rate of change in the direct and indirect drivers differs among regions and countries.
3. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, building on the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020, its achievements, gaps, and lessons learned, and the experience and achievements of other relevant multilateral environmental agreements, sets out an ambitious plan to implement broad- based action to bring about a transformation in our societies' relationship with biodiversity by 2030, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, and ensure that, by 2050, the shared vision of living in harmony with nature is fulfilled.
Section B. Purpose
4. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to catalyze, enable and galvanize urgent and transformative action by Governments, and subnational and local authorities, with the involvement of all of society, to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, to achieve the outcomes it sets out in its Vision, Mission, Goals and Targets, and thereby contribute to the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and to those of its Protocols. Its purpose is the full implementation of the three objectives of the Convention in a balanced manner.
5. The Framework is action- and results-oriented and aims to guide and promote, at all levels, the revision, development, updating, and implementation of policies, goals, targets, and national biodiversity strategies and actions plans, and to facilitate the monitoring and review of progress at all levels in a more transparent and responsible manner.
6. The Framework promotes coherence, complementarity and cooperation between the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Protocols, other biodiversity related conventions, and other relevant multilateral agreements and international institutions, respecting their mandates, and creates opportunities for cooperation and partnerships among diverse actors to enhance implementation of the Framework.
Section C. Considerations for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
7. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including its Vision, Mission, Goals and Targets, is to be understood, acted upon, implemented, reported and evaluated, consistent with the following:
Contribution and rights of indigenous peoples and local communities
8. The Framework acknowledges the important roles and contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities as custodians of biodiversity and as partners in its conservation, restoration and sustainable use. The Framework's implementation must ensure that the rights, knowledge, including traditional knowledge associated with biodiversity, innovations, worldviews, values and practices of indigenous peoples and local communities are respected, and documented and preserved with their free, prior and informed consent,Footnote 7 including through their full and effective participation in decision-making, in accordance with relevant national legislation, international instruments, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,Footnote 8 and human rights law. In this regard, nothing in this framework may be construed as diminishing or extinguishing the rights that indigenous peoples currently have or may acquire in the future;
Different value systems
9. Nature embodies different concepts for different people, including biodiversity, ecosystems, Mother Earth, and systems of life. Nature's contributions to people also embody different concepts, such as ecosystem goods and services and nature's gifts. Both nature and nature's contributions to people are vital for human existence and good quality of life, including human well-being, living in harmony with nature, and living well in balance and harmony with Mother Earth. The Framework recognizes and considers these diverse value systems and concepts, including, for those countries that recognize them, rights of nature and rights of Mother Earth, as being an integral part of its successful implementation;
Whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach
10. 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;
National circumstances, priorities and capabilities
11. The goals and targets of the Framework are global in nature. Each Party would contribute to attaining the goals and targets of the Framework in accordance with national circumstances, priorities and capabilities;
Collective effort towards the targets
12. The Parties will catalyse implementation of the Framework through mobilization of broad public support at all levels;
Right to development
13. Recognizing the 1986 United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development,Footnote 9 the Framework enables responsible and sustainable socioeconomic development that, at the same time, contributes to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity;
Human rights-based approach
14. The implementation of the Framework should follow a human rights-based approach, respecting, protecting, promoting and fulfilling human rights. The Framework acknowledges the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment;Footnote 10
Gender
15. Successful implementation of the Framework will depend on ensuring gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, and on reducing inequalities;
Fulfilment of the three objectives of the Convention and its Protocols and their balanced implementation
16. The goals and targets of the Framework are integrated and are intended to contribute in a balanced manner to the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Framework is to be implemented in accordance with these objectives, with the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit- sharing, as applicable;
Consistency with international agreements or instruments
17. The Framework needs to be implemented in accordance with relevant international obligations. Nothing in this Framework should be interpreted as agreement to modify the rights and obligations of a Party under the Convention or any other international agreement;
Principles of the Rio Declaration
18. The Framework recognizes that reversing the loss of biological diversity, for the benefit of all living beings, is a common concern of humankind. Its implementation should be guided by the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development;Footnote 11
Science and innovation
19. The implementation of the Framework should be based on scientific evidence and traditional knowledge and practices, recognizing the role of science, technology and innovation;
Ecosystem approach
20. This Framework is to be implemented based on the ecosystem approach of the Convention;Footnote 12
Inter-generational equity
21. The implementation of the Framework should be guided by the principle of intergenerational equity which aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and to ensure meaningful participation of younger generations in decision-making processes at all levels;
Formal and informal education
22. Implementation of the Framework requires transformative, innovative and transdisciplinary education, formal and informal, at all levels, including science-policy interface studies and lifelong learning processes, recognizing diverse world views, values and knowledge systems of indigenous peoples and local communities;
Access to financial resources
23. The full implementation of the Framework requires adequate, predictable and easily accessible financial resources;
Cooperation and synergies
24. Enhanced collaboration, cooperation and synergies between the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Protocols, other biodiversity-related conventions, other relevant multilateral agreements and international organizations and processes, in line with their respective mandates, including at the global, regional, subregional and national levels, would contribute to and promote the implementation of the Framework in a more efficient and effective manner;
Biodiversity and health
25. The Framework acknowledges the interlinkages between biodiversity and health and the three objectives of the Convention. The Framework is to be implemented with consideration of the One Health Approach, among other holistic approaches that are based on science, mobilize multiple sectors, disciplines and communities to work together, and aim to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, plants and ecosystems, recognizing the need for equitable access to tools and technologies including medicines, vaccines and other health products related to biodiversity, while highlighting the urgent need to reduce pressures on biodiversity and decrease environmental degradation to reduce risks to health, and, as appropriate, develop practical access and benefit-sharing arrangements.
Section D. Relationship with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
26. The framework is a contribution to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At the same time, progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and the achievement of sustainable development in all its three dimensions (environmental, social and economic) is necessary to create the conditions necessary to fulfil the goals and targets of the Framework. It will place biodiversity, its conservation, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, at the heart of the sustainable development agenda, recognizing the important linkages between biological and cultural diversity.
Section E. Theory of change
27. The framework is built around a theory of change which recognizes that urgent policy action is required globally, regionally and nationally to achieve sustainable development so that the drivers of undesirable change that have exacerbated biodiversity loss will be reduced and/or reversed to allow for the recovery of all ecosystems and to achieve the Convention's Vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050.
Section F. 2050 vision and 2030 mission
28. The vision of the framework is a world of 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.”
29. 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 by ensuring the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources, while providing the necessary means of implementation.
Section G. Global goals for 2050
30. The framework has four long-term goals for 2050 related to the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.
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, the 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 country Parties, 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 per year, and aligning financial flows with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the 2050 Vision for biodiversity.
Section H. Global targets for 2030
31. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework has 23 action-oriented global targets for urgent action over the decade to 2030. The actions set out in each target need to be initiated immediately and completed by 2030. Together, the results will enable achievement towards the outcome-oriented goals for 2050. Actions to reach these targets should be implemented consistently and in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Protocols, and other relevant international obligations, taking into account national circumstances, priorities and socioeconomic conditions.
1. Reducing threats to biodiversity
TARGET 1
Ensure that all areas are under participatory, integrated and 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.
TARGET 2
Ensure that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity.
TARGET 3
Ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas, and of marine and coastal 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, recognizing indigenous and traditional territories, where applicable, and integrated into wider landscapes, seascapes and the ocean, while ensuring that any sustainable use, where appropriate in such areas, is fully consistent with conservation outcomes, recognizing and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, including over their traditional territories.
TARGET 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, as well as to 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.
TARGET 5
Ensure that 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 spillover, applying the ecosystem approach, while respecting and protecting customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.
TARGET 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 per cent by 2030, and eradicating or controlling invasive alien species, especially in priority sites, such as islands.
TARGET 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, including: (a) by reducing excess nutrients lost to the environment by at least half, including through more efficient nutrient cycling and use; (b) by reducing the overall risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half, including through integrated pest management, based on science, taking into account food security and livelihoods; and (c) by preventing, reducing, and working towards eliminating plastic pollution.
TARGET 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.
2. Meeting people's needs through sustainable use and benefit-sharing
TARGET 9
Ensure that the management and use of wild species are sustainable, thereby providing social, economic and environmental benefits for people, especially those in vulnerable situations and those most dependent on biodiversity, including through sustainable biodiversity-based activities, products and services that enhance biodiversity, and protecting and encouraging customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.
TARGET 10
Ensure that areas under agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry are managed sustainably, in particular through the sustainable use of biodiversity, including through a substantial increase of the application of biodiversity friendly practices, such as sustainable intensification, agroecological and other innovative approaches, contributing to the resilience and long-term efficiency and productivity of these production systems, and to food security, conserving and restoring biodiversity and maintaining nature's contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services.
TARGET 11
Restore, maintain and enhance nature's contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, such as the 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/or ecosystem-based approaches for the benefit of all people and nature.
TARGET 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 to the provision of ecosystem functions and services.
TARGET 13
Take effective legal, policy, administrative and capacity-building measures at all levels, as appropriate, 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.
3. Tools and solutions for implementation and mainstreaming
TARGET 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, as appropriate, 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, and fiscal and financial flows with the goals and targets of this framework.
TARGET 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:
(a) 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;
(b) Provide information needed to consumers to promote sustainable consumption patterns;
(c) Report on compliance with access and benefit-sharing regulations and measures, as applicable;
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.
TARGET 16
Ensure that 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, and by 2030, reduce the global footprint of consumption in an equitable manner, including through halving global food waste, significantly reducing overconsumption and substantially reducing waste generation, in order for all people to live well in harmony with Mother Earth.
TARGET 17
Establish, strengthen capacity for, and implement in all countries, biosafety measures as set out in Article 8(g) of the Convention on Biological Diversity and measures for the handling of biotechnology and distribution of its benefits as set out in Article 19 of the Convention.
TARGET 18
Identify by 2025, 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.
TARGET 19
Substantially and progressively increase the level of financial resources from all sources, in an effective, timely and easily accessible manner, including domestic, international, public and private resources, in accordance with Article 20 of the Convention, to implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans, mobilizing at least $200 billion per year by 2030, including by:
(a) Increasing total biodiversity related international financial resources from developed countries, including official development assistance, and from countries that voluntarily assume obligations of developed country Parties, to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, to at least $20 billion per year by 2025, and to at least $30 billion per year by 2030;
(b) Significantly increasing domestic resource mobilization, facilitated by the preparation and implementation of national biodiversity finance plans or similar instruments according to national needs, priorities and circumstances;
(c) Leveraging private finance, promoting blended finance, implementing strategies for raising new and additional resources, and encouraging the private sector to invest in biodiversity, including through impact funds and other instruments;
(d) Stimulating innovative schemes such as payment for ecosystem services, green bonds, biodiversity offsets and credits, and benefit-sharing mechanisms, with environmental and social safeguards;
(e) Optimizing co-benefits and synergies of finance targeting the biodiversity and climate crises;
(f) Enhancing the role of collective actions, including by indigenous peoples and local communities, Mother Earth centric actionsFootnote 13 and non-market-based approaches including community based natural resource management and civil society cooperation and solidarity aimed at the conservation of biodiversity;
(g) Enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency and transparency of resource provision and use;
TARGET 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, including through South-South, North-South and triangular cooperation, to meet the needs for effective implementation, particularly in developing countries, fostering joint technology development and joint scientific research programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and strengthening scientific research and monitoring capacities, commensurate with the ambition of the goals and targets of the Framework.
TARGET 21
Ensure that 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 and, also in this context, traditional knowledge, innovations, practices and technologies of indigenous peoples and local communities should only be accessed with their free, prior and informed consent,Footnote 14 in accordance with national legislation.
TARGET 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.
TARGET 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 three objectives of the Convention, including 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.
Section I. Implementation and support mechanism and enabling conditions
32. Implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the achievement of its goals and targets will be facilitated and enhanced through support mechanisms and strategies under the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Protocols, in accordance with its provisions and the decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its fifteenth meeting.
33. The full implementation of the Framework will require the provision of adequate, predictable and easily accessible financial resources from all sources on a needs basis. It further requires cooperation and collaboration in building the necessary capacity and transfer of technologies to allow Parties, especially developing country Parties, to fully implement the Framework.
Section J. Responsibility and transparency
34. The successful implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework requires responsibility and transparency, which will be supported by effective mechanisms for planning, monitoring, reporting and review, forming an agreed, synchronized and cyclical system.Footnote 15 This includes the following elements:
(a) National biodiversity strategies and action plans, revised or updated in alignment with the Framework and its goals and targets as the main vehicle for implementation of the Framework, including national targets communicated in a standardized format;
(b) National reports, including the headline and, as appropriate, other indicators in the monitoring framework of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;
(c) Global analysis of information in national biodiversity strategies and action plans, including national targets to assess the contribution towards the Framework;
(d) Global review of collective progress in the implementation of the Framework, including the means of implementation, based on national reports and, as appropriate, other sources;
(e) Voluntary peer reviews;
(f) Further development and testing of an open-ended forum for voluntary country reviews;
(g) Information on non-state actor commitments towards the Framework, as applicable.
35. Parties may take the outcome of the global reviews into account in the future revisions and implementation of their national biodiversity strategies and action plans, including the provision of means of implementation to developing country Parties, with a view to improving actions and efforts, as appropriate.
36. The mechanisms recognize the specific challenges faced by developing countries and the need for international cooperation to support them accordingly. Means of implementation, including capacity-building and development, and technical and financial support will be provided to Parties, especially to developing country Parties, to enable the implementation of these mechanisms for responsibility and transparency, including information on transparency of the support provided and received, and provide a full overview of aggregate support provided.
37. The mechanisms will be undertaken in a facilitative, non-intrusive, non-punitive manner, respecting national sovereignty, and avoiding placing undue burden on Parties.
38. Further recommendations on the transparency and responsibility mechanisms will be provided by the Conference of the Parties as necessary with a view to achieving the goals and targets of the Framework.
39. Future meetings of the Conference of the Parties will consider and provide any additional recommendation, as necessary, including on the basis of the outcomes from the reviews, with a view to achieving the goals and targets of the Framework.
Section K. Communication, education, awareness and uptake
40. Enhancing communication, education, and awareness on biodiversity and the uptake of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by all actors is essential to achieve its effective implementation and behavioural change, and to promote sustainable lifestyles and biodiversity values, including by:
(a) Increasing awareness, understanding and appreciation of the knowledge systems, diverse values of biodiversity and nature's contributions to people, including ecosystems functions and services and traditional knowledge and worldviews of indigenous peoples and local communities as well as of biodiversity's contribution to sustainable development;
(b) Increasing awareness on the importance of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and of the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources for sustainable development, including improving sustainable livelihoods and poverty eradication efforts and its overall contribution to global and/or national sustainable development strategies;
(c) Raising awareness among all sectors and actors of the need for urgent action to implement the Framework, while enabling their active engagement in the implementation and monitoring of progress towards the achievement of its goals and targets;
(d) Facilitating understanding of the Framework, including by targeted communication, adapting the language used, level of complexity and thematic content to relevant groups of actors, considering their socioeconomic and cultural context, including by developing material that can be translated into indigenous and local languages;
(e) Promoting or developing platforms, partnerships and action agendas, including with media, civil society and educational institutions, including academia, to share information on successes, lessons learned and experiences and to allow for adaptive learning and participation in acting for biodiversity;
(g) Integrating transformative education on biodiversity into formal, non-formal and informal educational programmes, promoting curriculum on biodiversity conservation and sustainable use in educational institutions, and promoting knowledge, attitudes, values, behaviours and lifestyles that are consistent with living in harmony with nature;
(g) Raising awareness on the critical role of science, technology and innovation to strengthen scientific and technical capacities to monitor biodiversity, address knowledge gaps and develop innovative solutions to improve the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
Kunming Declaration
Declaration from the High-Level Segment of the UN Biodiversity Conference 2020 (Part 1) under the theme:
“Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth”
We, the Ministers and other heads of delegations, having met in Kunming, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China, in person, and remotely, on 12 and 13 October 2021, on the occasion of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference,Footnote 1 at the invitation of the Government of the People's Republic of China,
Recalling the relevance of the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity: “Living in harmony with nature”,
Recalling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and recognizing that its full achievement across the environmental, social and economic dimensions is necessary to enable the realization of the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity;
Emphasizing that biodiversity, and the ecosystem functions and services it provides, support all forms of life on Earth and underpin our human and planetary health and well-being, economic growth and sustainable development,
Concerned that the ongoing loss of biodiversity jeopardizes achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and other international goals and targets,
Recognizing that progress has been made in the last decade, under the 2011-2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, but deeply concerned that such progress has been insufficient to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets,
Acknowledging with grave concern that the unprecedented and interrelated crises of biodiversity loss, climate change, land degradation and desertification, ocean degradation, and pollution, and increasing risks to human health and food security, pose an existential threat to our society, our culture, our prosperity and our planet,
Recognizing that these crises share many underlying drivers of change,
Recognizing also that the main direct drivers of biodiversity loss are land/sea use change, overexploitation, climate change, pollution and invasive alien species,
Acknowledging that indigenous peoples and local communities contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity through the application of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices, and through their stewardship of biodiversity on their traditional lands and territories,
Recognizing also the important roles played by women and girls, and youth,
Stressing, therefore, that urgent and integrated action is needed, for transformative change, across all sectors of the economy and all parts of society, through policy coherence at all levels of government, and the realization of synergies at national level across relevant Conventions and multilateral organizations, to shape a future path for nature and people, where biodiversity is conserved and used sustainably, and the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources are shared fairly and equitably, as an integral part of sustainable development,
Noting that a combination of measures are needed to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity, including actions to address land and sea use change, enhance the conservation and restoration of ecosystems, mitigate climate change, reduce pollution, control invasive alien species and prevent overexploitation, as well as actions to transform economic and financial systems and to ensure sustainable production and consumption, and reduce waste, recognizing that none of these measures alone, nor in partial combinations, is sufficient and that the effectiveness of each measure is enhanced by the other,
Noting the call of many countries to protect and conserve 30% of land and sea areas through well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures by 2030,
Reaffirming the Cancun Declaration on Mainstreaming the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity for Well-Being and the Sharm el Sheikh Declaration on Investing in Biodiversity for People and Planet,
Recalling the UN Summit on Biodiversity in September 2020, with the theme “Urgent action on Biodiversity for Sustainable Development",
Taking note of the theme of the UN Biodiversity Conference 2020: “Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth”,
We declare that putting biodiversity on a path to recovery is a defining challenge of this decade, in the context of the UN Decade of Action for Sustainable Development, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the UN Decade for Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, requiring strong political momentum to develop, adopt and implement an ambitious and transformative post-2020 global biodiversity framework that promotes the three objectives of the Convention in a balanced manner,
We Commit to:
(1) Ensure the development, adoption and implementation of an effective post- 2020 global biodiversity framework, that includes provision of the necessary means of implementation, in line with the Convention, and appropriate mechanisms for monitoring, reporting and review, to reverse the current loss of biodiversity and ensure that biodiversity is put on a path to recovery by 2030 at the latest, towards the full realization of the 2050 Vision of “Living in Harmony with Nature”;
(2) Support, as appropriate, the development, adoption and implementation of an effective post-2020 Implementation Plan, and Capacity Building Action Plan, for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety;
(3) Work across our respective governments to continue to promote the integration, or “mainstreaming” of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity into decision-making including through the integration of the multiple values of biodiversity into policies, regulations, planning processes, poverty reduction strategies and economic accounting, and strengthen cross- sectoral coordinating mechanisms on biodiversity;
(4) Accelerate and strengthen the development and update of the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, to ensure the effective implementation of the post 2020 global biodiversity framework at national level;
(5) Improve the effectiveness, and increase the coverage, globally, of area-based conservation and management through enhancing and establishing effective systems of protected areas and adopting other effective area-based conservation measures, as well as spatial planning tools, to protect species and genetic diversity and reduce or eliminate threats to biodiversity, recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities and ensuring their full and effective participation;
(6) Strengthen sustainable use of biodiversity for meeting the needs of people;
(7) Actively enhance the global environmental legal framework and strengthen environmental law at national level, and its enforcement, to protect biodiversity and to combat its illegal use, and to respect, protect and promote human rights obligations when taking actions to protect biodiversity;
(8) Step up our efforts to ensure, through the Convention, the Nagoya Protocol and other agreements as appropriate, the fair and equitable benefit-sharing arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, including traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, taking into account the context of digital sequence information on genetic resources;
(9) Strengthen measures, and their implementation, for the development, assessment, regulation, management, and transfer, as appropriate, of relevant biotechnologies, with a view to promote the benefits and to reduce the risks, including those associated with the use and release of living modified organisms which are likely to have adverse environmental impacts;
(10) Increase the application of ecosystem-based approaches to address biodiversity loss, restore degraded ecosystems, boost resilience, mitigate and adapt to climate change, support sustainable food production, promote health, and contribute to addressing other challenges, enhancing One Health and other holistic approaches and ensuring benefits across economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, through robust safeguards for environmental and social protection, highlighting that such ecosystem-based approaches do not replace the priority actions needed to urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a way that is consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement;Footnote 2
(11) Step up actions to reduce the negative effects of human activities on the ocean to protect marine and coastal biodiversity and strengthen the resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems to climate change;
(12) Ensure that post-pandemic recovery policies, programmes and plans contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, promoting sustainable and inclusive development;
(13) Work with ministries of finance and economy, and other relevant ministries, to reform incentive structures, eliminating, phasing out or reforming subsidies and other incentives that are harmful to biodiversity, while protecting people in vulnerable situations, to mobilize additional financial resources from all sources, and align all financial flows in support of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity;
(14) Increase the provision of financial, technological and capacity building support to developing countries necessary to implement the post 2020 global biodiversity framework and in line with the provisions of the Convention;
(15) Enable the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities, women, youth, civil society, local governments and authorities, academia, the business and financial sectors, and other relevant stakeholders, and encourage them to make voluntary commitments in the context of the Sharm el Sheikh to Kunming Action Agenda for Nature and People, and to continue to build the momentum for the implementation of the post 2020 global biodiversity framework;
(16) Further develop communication, education and public awareness tools on biodiversity to support changes in behaviour towards the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity;
(17) Further enhance collaboration and coordinate actions with ongoing multilateral environmental agreements, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, and the biodiversity-related conventions, as well as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other related international and multilateral processes, to promote the protection, conservation, sustainable management and restoration of terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity, while contributing to other sustainable development goals, aligned to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
[This Declaration will be submitted to the General Assembly of United Nations, the 2022 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, and the second part of the 5th United Nations Environment Assembly.]
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