5 Things to Know about Biodiversity COP

Biodiversity is essential to life on Earth, yet ecosystems and species are under increasing pressure from human activities, land degradation and climate change. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) provides a global framework for conserving biodiversity, using it sustainably and sharing its benefits fairly. Through its Conference of the Parties (COP), countries come together to assess progress, agree on priorities and strengthen action to protect biodiversity.  

Here are five things to know about the convention's COP:

1. The Convention on Biological Diversity is one of the three Rio Conventions

   Alongside the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the CBD emerged from the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. These three agreements, known as the Rio Conventions, reflect the international community's recognition that environmental protection and sustainable development are closely linked. Each convention has a distinct mandate. The CBD focuses on protecting the living fabric of the planet while tying ecological health directly to human economic and social development. There are currently 195 parties to the CBD.

2. COP is a mechanism for coordinating biodiversity governance globally

   Just like the Climate COP, which supports the Paris Agreement, the CBD has its own conference of the parties, supporting the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. At the Biodiversity COP, countries come together to agree on how to protect biodiversity, address the drivers of biodiversity loss and ensure the sustainable use of natural resources. This also includes conserving ecosystems and species and ensuring that the benefits derived from genetic resources are shared fairly. The convention is supported by a subsidiary body of experts who provide scientific and technical advice. They also assess the status of biological diversity and report regularly to the COP.

3. The Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss

   The Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is the Convention's landmark agreement adopted at COP 15 in 2022, which succeeds the previous Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and sets out global biodiversity goals to reach in the next decade. Key among these are targets known as the “30 by 30 goals", which aim to ensure that at least 30 per cent of degraded terrestrial, inland waterways and ecosystems are under active restoration and effective conservation by 2030. This year's COP 17 will hold the first midterm review of collective progress towards implementing these and other framework targets, helping identify achievements, gaps and priorities for accelerating action.

4. Biodiversity is essential to human survival and resilience 

   Biodiversity underpins the ecosystems on which human life depends. Pollinators support food production, healthy soils sustain agriculture, and forests, wetlands and other ecosystems help regulate water cycles and store carbon. These ecosystem functions and services support human health, livelihoods and well-being, while also contributing to disaster risk reduction and climate action. Wetlands can help absorb floodwaters, and healthy ecosystems can support climate regulation, for example. As biodiversity declines, these functions become more vulnerable because the number of species supporting them decreases, reducing the ability of ecosystems and communities to withstand and recover from environmental pressures. When ecosystems are pushed beyond certain thresholds, changes can become difficult to reverse, resulting in ripple effects for species and humans. Therefore, protecting biodiversity is linked to our survival. 

5. What happens at the climate COP and the land COP also affects biodiversity

   Biodiversity loss, climate change and land degradation are deeply interconnected. Land degradation destroys habitat, degrades soils, depletes water resources and endangers biodiversity, while climate change can shift species ranges, interrupt foraging patterns and increase mortality. As a result, biodiversity loss can impact ecosystem functions and services, such as pollination, pest control and carbon sequestration. Therefore, the progress or delay of important work under one Rio Convention impacts the others. Importantly, restoring degraded land, protecting ecosystems and reducing greenhouse gas emissions can also deliver benefits for biodiversity, and thriving biodiversity can help mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The Rio Trio initiative is a formal process aimed at strengthening how these challenges are tackled together.