Biodiversity Summit (COP-15), Advance Text of Proposed Framework to Safeguard Nature

14 March 2022 – Three meetings critical to developing an ambitious and transformative post-2020 global biodiversity framework to safeguard nature resume in-person sessions today in Geneva, Switzerland.

“The world is clearly eager for urgent action to protect nature,” said Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. “And we have no time to spare. Together we must ultimately deliver a truly historic agreement that puts us firmly on the path to living in harmony with nature.”

Originally scheduled for Geneva from 12-28 January 2022, in-person meetings of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 24), the 3rd meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI 3) and the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (WG2020-3) resume 14-29 March 2022, at the Centre International de Conférences Genève. These meetings are resumptions of meetings held virtually last year.

SBSTTA-24: Will advance discussions on a monitoring approach for the post-2020 framework. This includes marine and coastal biodiversity, biodiversity and agriculture, biodiversity and health, and invasive alien species. Other issues include synthetic biology, living modified organisms risk assessment and management, and the work programme of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

SBI-3: Will complete its work on key inputs to the post-2020 framework and lay a firm foundation for its adoption and implementation thereafter at the resumed COP-15. The agenda includes ensuring the framework mobilizes and scales-up finance for biodiversity, better aligns investments with the needs of nature and people and facilitates the disclosure of risks and impacts for nature. Delegates will also advance work on the mechanisms to monitor, report, and review implementation, and to build countries’ capacity to manage and conserve its biodiversity resources, benefit from ecosystem services, and achieve the framework’s targets.

Plans will also be advanced to enhance outreach and public awareness to support biodiversity action, and ensure the framework fully supports rights-based approach and respect gender equality and equal access for women to leadership, participation and decision-making.

SBI-3 also continues its work on implementing the Convention’s other instruments: the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing, and the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions related to traditional knowledge.

WG2020-3: Discussions will centre on agreeing action needed to reach the 2050 Vision of living in harmony with nature, defining how performance will be tracked and reported, and ultimately determining how success will be defined. This includes addressing the five drivers of biodiversity loss - land sea use change, unsustainable exploitation, climate change, pollution, and invasive alien species - and relevant indirect drivers such as unsustainable production and consumption.

Discussions are based on the first draft post-2020 framework released last July, which includes a long-term vision to 2050 and medium-term milestone mission to 2030 plus 4 goals and 21 actions targets addressing both direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss. Other issues to be covered include resource mobilization, the financial mechanism, and access to digital sequence information from genetic resources and sharing the benefits from their use.

The meeting is also expected to decide and announce the dates of the resumed UN Biodiversity Conference later this year in Kunming, China, at which the landmark blue print post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is due for adoption.