The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: resuming COP16 in Rome

Last November, the 16^th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) halted due to a lack of quorum^[1]Quorum refers to the minimum number of Parties required to be present for a meeting or decision-making process to be valid. For CBD the quorum is set at 130 countries – two thirds of the … Continue reading, with some progress made but much work still left to do. Negotiators ran out of time and could not agree on three key decisions, which is why COP16 will resume in Rome on February 25^th. There, the ratifying countries will have three days to agree on several crucial decisions that were left unresolved in Calí. This blog gives you a quick refresher of the outcomes of last year’s COP, explains what the key decisions in Rome will be and what the Netherlands’ contribution to this important meeting will look like.

Header photo: COP16 plenary November 1st 2024 (c) UN Biodiversity, Attribution (CC BY 2.0)

What were the achievements at COP16 last year?

Although countries could not agree on all issues that were on the agenda at COP16 in Calí, Colombia, it should be noted that historic achievements were made during the negotiations. An agreement was reached to adopt a new fund, called the ‘Cali Fund’, for digital sequence information, which is genetic data from animals, plants, fungi and microbes. Pharmaceutical, cosmetics, agribusiness and technology conglomerates that benefit from this information should voluntarily contribute 1% of their profits, or 0.1% of their revenue to this fund.

Additionally, a permanent subsidiary body on Indigenous peoples and local communities (IP&LCs) under the CBD was created.  The full and effective participation of IP&LCs in the work of the CBD, and in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) is fundamental.

Moreover, COP16 introduced an updated process to identify ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs). This new approach ensures better cataloging and use of advanced science for planning and management. EBSAs are crucial for marine biodiversity protection, especially with efforts towards the 30×30 protected areas target and future implementation of the new marine biodiversity agreement beyond national jurisdiction.

• Read IUCN’s statement about the outcomes of CBD COP16

What are the key topics at COP16.2 in Rome?

During the second resumed sessions of COP16, main themes for discussion and negotiation will be, in the sequence they will be addressed: the mechanisms for planning, monitoring, reporting, and review; biodiversity finance, including a strategy for resource mobilisation and the monitoring framework of the KM-GBF.

Mechanisms for planning, monitoring, reporting, and review includes the monitoring framework and the processes needed to track implementation progress. This is crucial to know if we are on the right track.

Resource mobilisation is, and has been, a crucial but difficult topic since the agreement on the KM-GBF, with low-and middle-income countries expecting financial support from high-income countries for the implementation of the framework. The financial mechanism that is needed to manage and allocate these resources efficiently is also still up for debate.

How will the Netherlands contribute?

As a member state of the European Union, the Netherlands has co-signed the KM-GBF and will be attending COP16.2, albeit with a much smaller delegation than last year. Just like last year, the Netherlands will be following the strategic position of the EU during the negotations.

To substantiate their commitment to achieving the biodiversity targets, every Party to the Biodiversity Convention, including the Netherlands, must develop a national biodiversity strategy and action plan (NBSAP) to indicate how they will contribute to achieving the goals of the KM-GBF. The official deadline to submit these plans was October 2024, before the start of COP16. To date, in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, only Aruba and Curaçao have submitted their NBSAP. By not submitting a plan for the rest of our Kingdom, the government is not honoring its international obligations and it remains unclear how the Netherlands will realise the necessary changes for biodiversity restoration. The Dutch government expects to publish and NBSAP in the second quarter of 2025, which is long after the second resumed sessions of COP16.

A review of countries’ plans to achieve the goals of the KM-GBF published in Nature this week showed that none of the Parties are on track to achieve the goal of protecting 30% of the world’s area for biodiversity by 2030. This shows that a more intense global effort is needed to bend the curve of biodiversity loss.

How can we accelerate biodiversity action?

Last December, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) launched two reports that show the path forward on how to address the polycrisis of biodiversity loss, climate change, water shortage, food security and health and inequality together. IPBES states that we can achieve positive results for people and nature within ten years – if governments, businesses and citizens improve their cooperation.

‘For the Netherlands, where challenges such as the nitrogen crisis and flood risks put pressure on people and nature, the best available science-policy consensus by IPBES provides concrete guidance to steer our country away from disaster. As we can see on the Dutch National Dashboard for Biodiversity, almost all indicators show that we are in the danger zone ’, says Maxime Eiselin, Senior Expert Nature-based Solutions at IUCN NL.

Want to know more?

• Explainer: What is a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan? 
• In Dutch: Opinion article IUCN NL on lack of an NBSAP for the Netherlands 
• Explainer: Funding for biodiversity during COP16
• Explainer: What will happen during COP16?