Friedrich Wulf, Pro Natura – Friends of the Earth Switzerland
The discussions at SBSTTA-26 and SBI-7 will set the stage for a very important COP. It could be – through the global report and the global review - the turning point for the implementation of the KMGBF.
The global report, based on numerous national reports, has clarified that the world is not on track to reach the targets – more and enhanced action is needed. According to the report, targets 14, 16, 19 and 22 are those with the lowest level of progress.
In other words, above all, there needs to be a push in setting up and enforcing regulations and policies that align all relevant public and private activities, and fiscal and financial flows with the goals and targets of this framework; in making consumption more sustainable and reducing the global footprint; in providing the necessary finance for implementing the CBD, and ensuring the full, equitable, inclusive, effective and gender-responsive representation and participation in decision-making, and access to justice and information related to biodiversity.
Target 14, along with target 18 on subsidies harmful to biodiversity, is a key element for achieving transformative change and reducing the pressure on biodiversity. It demands that governments set up legislation and planning procedures in a way that economic activities align with the needs of biodiversity. The recent IPBES business and biodiversity assessment set to be welcomed by SBSTTA-28 (1) supports targets 14 and 18, requiring governments to “set up and enforce policy, legal and regulatory frameworks that incentivize or mandate actions by businesses and financial institutions for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.”(2) , and this might be mentioned in the SBSTTA recommendation.
Identifying and pointing out the gaps in the implementation of the GBF is one of the key outcomes expected of this year’s CBD process. But it is even more important to put in place a process to fill in the gaps in collaboration with others – a single COP decision calling on parties to increase their activities is not enough. A continuous process is needed. It will be important to discuss jointly, in diverse groups and settings, what different actors can do to tackle the challenges. Two elements of this are already underway – the voluntary country-by-country peer review and the Kunming technical dialogue on implementation (7-9 September). But there are many more options, and scientists from IDDRI and PBL have published an excellent overview of possible options to frame these structured dialogues, including technical, political and mixed dialogues at different levels.
We highly recommends reading this publication (3), especially chapter 5 onward.
Some of the presented options - Presidency-led senior political dialogues, targeted ministerial or cross-ministerial dialogues on a specific sectoral or finance issue, target-specific political dialogues or on a limited number of priority targets or systemic challenges, or regional or national dialogues to address specific political situations are intended to be held before or at the high level segment of the COP – not much time to organize it. It would be worthwhile if SBSTTA and SBI can prepare the ground so that these meetings will take place.
Notes
Document CBD/SBSTTA/28/3, Matters related to the work programme of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
IPBES (2026). Summary for Policymakers of the Methodological Assessment Report on the Impact and Dependence of Business on Biodiversity and Nature’s Contributions to People. Jones, M., Polasky, S., Rueda, X., Brooks, S., Carter Ingram, J., Egoh, B.N., von Hase, A., Kohsaka, R., Kulak, M., Leach, K., Loyola, R., Mandle, L., Rodriguez Osuna, V., Schaafsma, M. and Sonter, L.J. (eds.). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15369060. – Table SPM 1, A 1.1.
Landry, Kok et al. (2026): Operationalizing the biodiversity Global Review to strengthen CBD effectiveness: Priorities for COP17 and beyond.
https://www.pbl.nl/downloads/iddri-pbl-2026-operationalizing-the-biodiversity-global-review-to-strengthen-cbd-effectiveness-priorities-for-cop17