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Biodiversity
A red panda, labeled “endangered” by the IUCN, at an animal sanctuary in the Indian state of West Bengal. As biodiversity loss accelerates, the CBD calls on countries to take greater action to protect it. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS
– Governments meeting in Rome last week recognized that global efforts to protect nature are still not moving fast enough, even as biodiversity loss continues to affect ecosystems, livelihoods and economies around the world.
The warning came as the sixth meeting of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI-6) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) concluded after four days of negotiations focused on how countries are putting into practice global biodiversity commitments.
Held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the meeting is the first major checkpoint in a year of intense talks ahead of the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP17) in October in Yerevan, Armenia. There, governments will conduct the first global review of progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
From promises to practice
At the heart of the discussions in Rome was the challenge of turning global promises into action on the ground. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted in 2022, sets out 23 goals to be achieved by 2030, including protecting and restoring ecosystems, reducing pollution, reducing harmful subsidies, and ensuring fair distribution of the benefits of genetic resources.
While most governments have formally endorsed the framework, SBI-6 revealed that implementation remains uneven. Negotiators worked through recommendations on biodiversity financing, national planning, gender equality, capacity development, international cooperation, and access and benefit sharing. Many of them were adopted without brackets, suggesting broad agreement.
“This has been a long week for everyone,” said meeting chair Clarissa Souza Della Nina, closing the afternoon plenary session and announcing that delegates would meet again in the evening. He noted that turning global ambitions into real action on the ground requires strong systems and institutions, and that this is not an easy process.
“The conclusion of SBI-6 marks an important milestone in a very demanding year,” said Souza Della Nina, highlighting the efforts made by the countries to work together and find common ground.
But behind the language of consensus, discussions repeatedly returned to the same concern: global ambition is not yet accompanied by national action.
the president of SBI 6, Clarissa Souza Della Nina, Brazil; Asad Naqvi, Secretary of SBI 6; and CBD Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker celebrate the approval of the first session paper. Credit: IISD/ENB, Mike Muzurakis
National plans show mixed progress
A key contribution to the Rome meeting was an analysis by the CBD Secretariat of the national biodiversity strategies and objectives presented so far. These national plans are the main way that countries translate the global framework into domestic policies.
The analysis covered 51 National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and 130 sets of national targets. It was found that while progress is being made, many plans fall short of the scale of change required.
About 75 percent of Parties have presented national objectives, but fewer have updated their full national strategies. Even among the plans presented, several global objectives are only partially addressed. The social and economic aspects of biodiversity loss (including links to livelihoods, equity and development) tend to receive less attention than conservation measures.
“These findings clearly show our position,” said CBD Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker. “They also show that countries still have the opportunity to raise ambition and accelerate action ahead of the global review.”
The first global review of progress under the KMGBF will take place at COP17. An important source of information for this review will be the seventh national reports, which countries must submit by February 28, 2026.
At the end of SBI-6, the European Union, Lesotho, Uganda and Switzerland had submitted their reports. Several other countries said they were close to completion, while others cited difficulties related to limited staff, technical challenges or delays in accessing funds.
Delegates emphasized that timely reporting is essential, not only for transparency but also to ensure that the global review reflects the realities faced by countries at different levels of development.
Gender and inclusion left behind
Another issue that drew attention in Rome was the limited integration of gender equality in action on biodiversity. In the global framework, countries have committed to ensuring the full and meaningful participation of women and girls, including those of indigenous peoples and local communities.
However, the Secretariat’s analysis showed that only about 40 percent of national goals address gender-related issues, and only about 20 percent address women’s rights to land and natural resources. Even fewer countries reported involving women’s organizations in the preparation of national biodiversity plans.
For many participants, this gap was a reminder that biodiversity loss is not only an environmental issue but also a social one.
“Without addressing inequality, we will fail to protect nature,” Jamaican delegate Gillian Guthrie said during the discussions, urging governments still updating their plans to take a more inclusive approach.
Money and capacity remain major obstacles
Financing actions on biodiversity was another recurring theme. Although more detailed negotiations on biodiversity financing are scheduled for later this year, the talks in Rome were based on new studies on financing needs, the relationship between debt and biodiversity spending, and opportunities to better align biodiversity and climate finance.
Developing countries repeatedly identified limited financial resources, lack of access to technology, and institutional limitations as barriers to implementation. These challenges were reflected in the meeting itself, where several delegations were made up of a single representative struggling to pursue multiple negotiating paths.
The CBD Secretariat thanked donor countries that contributed to a special trust fund to support participation and called on others to do the same. Without broader support, delegates warned, global biodiversity decision-making risks leaving some voices unheard.
A decisive year ahead
The recommendations adopted at SBI-6 will now be sent to COP17, where governments will assess whether collective action so far is sufficient to meet the biodiversity targets set for 2030.
For many participants, the Rome meeting served as a progress report and a warning. While cooperation is improving and more countries are engaging in the global framework, biodiversity loss continues to impact food systems, health and economic stability, particularly in the Global South.
As the delegates left Rome, the message was clear: the next few months will be critical. Whether the world can move from commitments to meaningful action will be tested in Yerevan, Armenia, with many warning that the stakes could not be higher.
Below are some of the highlights from the 4-day meeting:
- The sixth meeting of the Subsidiary Body (SBI-6) on the Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity began the first global review of how countries are acting to protect nature.
- An official analysis of national biodiversity plans showed progress, but also revealed wide gaps between global goals and what many countries have committed to do domestically.
- About three-quarters of countries have presented national biodiversity targets, but far fewer have updated comprehensive national strategies or addressed the social and economic aspects of biodiversity loss.
- Gender equality and the participation of women, indigenous peoples and local communities remain weak in many national plans, despite being central to the global agreement on biodiversity.
- Developing countries highlighted current challenges related to limited funding, lack of technical capacity and difficulty in accessing the resources needed to implement biodiversity actions.
- The Rome outcomes will shape how global biodiversity progress is measured and reviewed, setting the tone for accountability and action in the run-up to 2030.
IPS UN Office Report
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