The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will take place in October 2026.

It will be held in conjunction with the twelfth meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CP-MOP-12) and the sixth meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing (NP-MOP-6). COP 17 will mark the first global review of collective progress towards the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its components; and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. Its objective is to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and it is often seen as the key document regarding sustainable development. The Convention was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1992 and entered into force on 29 December 1993. The United States is the only UN member state which has not ratified the Convention. It has two supplementary agreements, the Cartagena Protocol and Nagoya Protocol. The Cartagena Protocol is an international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another. It was adopted on 29 January 2000 as a supplementary agreement to the CBD and entered into force on 11 September 2003. The Nagoya Protocol is another supplementary agreement to the CBD. It provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

The Nagoya Protocol was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, and entered into force on 12 October 2014. The Secretariat of the CBD was the focal point of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity. Following a recommendation of CBD signatories at Nagoya, the UN declared 2011 to 2020 as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity in December 2010. The Convention’s Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020, created in 2010, include the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The Aichi Biodiversity Targets were 20 international goals set under the Convention to protect biodiversity, sustainable use of natural resources, and to protect species. However, countries failed to meet the Aichi Targets as they lacked clarity, were hard to measure, actions were unreported, and there was limited funding. Low prioritization was given to this matter when compared to other industries like agriculture, further leading to its ineffectiveness. In the area of marine and coastal biodiversity CBD’s focus at present is to identify Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) in specific ocean locations based on scientific criteria. The aim is to create an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) involving area-based planning and decision-making under UNCLOS to support the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction (BBNJ treaty or High Seas Treaty).

Links:
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 17)

Geen natuurbescherming zonder rechten: Inheems leiderschap centraal op COP17