UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15)

7-19 December 2022 in Montreal, Canada, governments from around the world will come together to agree on a new set of goals to guide global action through 2030 to halt and reverse nature loss.

Nature is critical to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. Adoption of a bold global biodiversity framework that addresses the key drivers of nature loss is needed to secure our own health and well-being alongside that of the planet.

What needs to happen at COP 15:

• Adoption of an equitable and comprehensive framework matched by the resources needed for implementation
• Clear targets to address overexploitation, pollution, fragmentation and unsustainable agricultural practices
• A plan that safeguards the rights of indigenous peoples and recognizes their contributions as stewards of nature
• Finance for biodiversity and alignment of financial flows with nature to drive finances toward sustainable investments and away from environmentally harmful ones

The first part of COP-15 included the opening of the Meetings and addressed agenda items that were identified as essential for the continuation of the operations of the Convention and the Protocols by the Bureau. This included meetings about administrative matters and technical issues related to CBD programmes.

There was also a high-level segment on 12 and 13 October 2021. Participants focused on the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

20 December 2022. Final Press Conference with COP15 Presidency

Streaming

All sessions at COP-15 were streamed live at cbd.int/live and the main schedule is also available.

See the side events in following blogposts:

• Fifth Science-Policy Forum for Biodiversity and and the Eighth International Conference on Sustainability Science
• The Food Day @ the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15)
• Nature Positive Pavilion at the CBD's COP15

CBD Main Schedule

CBD side events: extracts

Dec 13 Four African CSOs on agroecology, biotechnologies and the "free, prior and informed consent

Dec 13 @19:15 Side Event #5137 Sustainable financing of biosphere reserves and world heritage sites in Central Africa to build resilience to climate change

AfDB is now working with UNESCO to establish an African Biosphere Reserve Fund (AFRIBIOFUND). In Central Africa, there are currently 13 World Heritage sites and 9 biosphere reserves in 8 countries. There are no geo-parks at present. This number is clearly insufficient (barely 1% of the total number in the world) given the enormous potential of the region, which is recognized as the second green lung of the planet. Moreover, the existing biosphere reserves and World Heritage sites are in most cases confronted with difficulties that hamper their operational capacities.

Dec 15 @ 22:00 Side Event #4795 High Level Side Event Saving our planet’s largest tropical lung and natural heritage – How the Congo Basin contributes to protecting global climate and biodiversity and how it should be supported.

The conservation of the Central African forests is also essential for its 60 million inhabitants who depend on the countless environmental products and services that the forests provide. Further, the region plays a central role in climate regulation and carbon sequestration. Central Africa remains one of the few regions in the world that absorbs more carbon than it emits (Net Flux of 610 million tCo2) with a carbon sequestration capacity of about 60 billion tCo2 per year, including 30 billion tCo2 in its peatlands. But this land, which has fed generations of Africans, is under increasing pressure. The rates of deforestation and forest degradation are on the rise. These issues require a concerted global response which recognizes the international importance and responsibility for preserving its forests, natural resources and biodiversity.

Dec 16 @ 00:15 Side Event #4756 NaturAfrica, an EU Flagship for people and nature

In 2021 the European Union launched NaturAfrica, a flagship initiative to support biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development in key landscapes and seascapes. The concept is based on the EU strategic approach for wildlife conservation in Africa (2015), and the initiative adopted a Team Europe Approach, combining the efforts of the EU and its Member States.

NaturAfrica is the product of a wide consultation of African stakeholders, including national institutions, civil society and the private sector. The initiative promotes an integrated landscape approach, in which nature conservation is combined with actions in support of local development and governance, including green job creation, development of clean energy and sustainable value chains, and improved law enforcement and security.

• Representatives from the European Commission, including Mr Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for the Environment and Ms Carla Montesi, Director for the Green Deal and Digital Agenda at the Directorate General for International Partnerships
• Mr Kaddu Sebunya, CEO of the African Wildlife Foundation
• African Ministers of Green Economy and Environment
• Mr Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, Advisor to the Minister of Hydrocarbons of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chair of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)
• A high representative from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD)
• Mr Emmanuel de Mérode, Director of the Virunga National Park

Dec 16 @19:15 Side Event #4966 Achieving Post-2020 targets through Sustainable Bioeconomy in Agrifood Systems

FAO’s new Programme Priority Area on Bioeconomy for Sustainable Food and Agriculture (PPA BE2). One of the main objectives of the bioeconomy PPA is to mainstream agrifood innovations in a way that supports climate, biodiversity and environmental goals.

Dec 16 @ Regional centres in support of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework in Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific for monitoring Targets 1,2 and 3.

Panel discussion: share and exchange of experiences from Parties who benefit from the services of regional nodes acting as regional learning centres for knowledge management and capacity development, for the post-2020 GBF implementation across Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, the European Union and the Pacific.

• Welcome: Trevor Sandwith (IUCN)
• Opening remarks: Carla Montesi (European Commission)
• Abhinav Prakash (CBD Secretariat)
• Panel discussion: (25 min)Melesse Maryo (Ethiopia)
• Afele Faiilagi (Samoa)
• Aboubacar Samoura (Guinée)
• Hannah St Luce Martinez (Belize)
• Chouaibou Nchoutpouen (COMIFAC)

Dec 17 @19:15 Side Event #4817 Spatial planning as key to nature-positive, carbon-neutral development in Central Africa: Gabon’s approach to National Land Use Planning, including sustainable palm oil development

In 2015 the government of Gabon established a National Land Use Planning process to regularize, harmonize and optimize the planning, allocation and management of all land and ocean areas across different sectors, from mining to protected areas. During this period, the government took the strategic decision to develop the palm oil industry, with a political commitment to develop it in a sustainable manner.

Dec 18 @0:15 Side Event #4491 Climate Change Adaptation Project for the Creation of a Center for Innovation and Coexistence in Adverse Climatic Situations in Niger : Technology Transfer and Social Knowledge Exchange and Environmental.

Depuis plus de trois décennies une diminution considérable des quantités de pluies est observée dans les différentes localités ciblées par l’intervention, qui a entrainé une dégradation de la qualité des sols en les rendant inaptes à une productivité suffisante pour satisfaire les besoins alimentaires des populations surtout en milieu rural. Les facteurs déterminants demeurent les comportements, attitudes et pratiques des populations sur leurs écosystèmes, la propagation des gaz à effet de serre, l’insuffisance de technologies adaptées à la défense et la restauration des sols, et de semences adaptées aux conditions climatiques.

Dec 18 @19:15 Side Event #4386 Enforcing Community led biodiversity conservation leadership within the Guinean Forest of West Africa.

This event will present lessons learnt from a project implemented within the ebo forest landscape in the Yabassi legacy Key Biological Area (KBA) wherein communities effectively engage in protecting biodiversity.

Dec 18 @19:15 Side Event #4312 10 years of capacity building for implementing the CBD in Africa - the CEBioS Program

CEBioS – ‘Capacities for Biodiversity and Sustainable Development’ – is a program financed by the Belgian Development Cooperation (DGD) and housed at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), where it belongs to the Operational Directorate ‘Natural Environment’ and more specifically the BioPolS group (Belgian Biodiversity Policy Support Group). CEBioS is a unique model assisting partner countries of the Belgian Development Cooperation to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Aichi Targets.

Dec 18 @19:15 Side Event #4453 Biodiversity Action For and By the Global South

The Organisation of Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), in collaboration with the European Commission, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and a number of international, regional, and national partners, is supporting its 79 Member states to effectively implement a number of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), including the CBD.

Using South-South Cooperation as the overarching framework for providing support to the Member States and Regions of the OACPS to implement the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, the intra-ACP MEA3 Programme is gearing up to augment support that will be needed on issues of capacity development, technology transfer, and knowledge management, as well as using both thematic and cross-cutting issues under the CBD.