Representatives from nations party to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will convene in Yerevan, Armenia between 19 and 30 October for negotiations on legal texts forming decisions under the Conference of the Parties to the CBD. The gathering represents a midpoint assessment between the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the target completion date, occurring at a time when the CBD reports that countries remain off-track to meet 22 of the framework’s 23 targets.
Beyond the main CBD negotiations, diplomats will also work on decisions related to two supplementary protocols: the Cartagena Protocol addressing biosafety matters, and the Nagoya Protocol covering access and benefit-sharing provisions for genetic resources. The Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols operate through separate meetings of the parties, with 173 and 141 participating nations respectively, compared to the broader CBD membership of 196 parties.
Two agenda items are anticipated to dominate discussions in Yerevan. The global review will evaluate advancement toward the biodiversity framework and propose recommendations for strengthening implementation efforts. Finance negotiations will address both resource mobilization and the financial mechanism, with nations from biodiverse regions in the global south expected to advocate for increased international conservation funding. Persistent disagreement over financial arrangements previously led to the suspension of COP16 proceedings in October 2024, though countries subsequently agreed on a roadmap for establishing a permanent financial mechanism during the resumed session in early 2025.
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