Advancing the GBF through Local Action: Insights from COMDEKS Phase 4 and the Satoyama Initiative

On 26 October 2026, UNU-IAS will host a side event at the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia. Drawing on the experience of technical experts and field practitioners, the event will highlight the role of the Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative (COMDEKS) in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and key targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).  

COMDEKS was launched in 2011 as a flagship programme of the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI), which aims to realize societies in harmony with nature through the conservation and sustainable management of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS). At CBD COP15, the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ), Keidanren Nature Conservation Council (KNCC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other partners announced COMDEKS Phase 4, with funding expected to total one billion Japanese Yen over 2023–2027, contributing to GBF Targets 2, 3, 10 and 20 and to countries' National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).  

The event will highlight the role of local actors and communities in designing inclusive, locally-led solutions to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, and discuss the links between local economic development, resilience and ecosystem restoration.  

Participation

This event is open to all participants of CBD COP17 Blue Zone.  

Please note that participants in UNU events may appear in photography, screen captures, videos and/or audio. For further information please refer to Events. 

Organizers 

This event is co-organized by KNCC; the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD); MOEJ; UNU-IAS; IPSI; and UNDP.  

Programme  

The programme will be added to this page once available.

Opening Remarks

• Slobodan Tadić (Global Manager, GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP), UNDP)

High-level Remarks

• Hiromi Mitsubayashi (State Minister of the Evironment, Japan)
• Keiji Nishizawa (Chair, Keidanren Nature Conservation Council)
• Cassie Flynn (Director, Planet Hub, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP)

COMDEKS Phase 4 Overview
Rissa Edoo, Partnerships Specialist, GEF Small Grants Programme, UNDP

Community Roundtable: Advancing the GBF through Local Action

The interactive discussion will share experiences and lessons from community-based conservation and landscape approaches, including implementation of the Satoyama Initiative and contributions to the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Speakers:

• Ichiro Hama (Programme Coordinator, UNU-IAS)
• Ulrika Åberg (Senior Programme Officer, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN))
• Najwa Es-siari (President, Morocco Biodiversity and Livelihoods Association)
• Kuluipa Akmatova (Director, Rural Development Fund)
• Askar Davletbakov (Argali Foundation)
• Svetlana Harutyunyan (National Coordinator, GEF Small Grants Programme Armenia)

Q&A

Closing Remarks
Naohisa Okuda (Director, International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) Secretariat)