SB8J 1

Targets 2 & 3: Advancing Effective Gender Integration

Alejandra Duarte & Meenal Tatpati, Women4Biodiversity - Biodiversity conservation and restoration, without recognition and legitimisation of women’s consistent efforts cannot be achieved. Yet, women from Indigenous Peoples and local community groups face persistent and systemic barriers including lack of legal and customary access and ownership to land and territories and natural resources, exclusion from funding processes, and marginalization in decision-making spaces which are well established critical areas to achieve conservation outcomes. ...

Corporate invasion of Indigenous territories and infringement of collective rights coincides with biodiversity loss

WilmerLucitante Criollo, UDAPT - Around the world, indigenous peoples and local communities are suffering a double attack: on the one hand, extractive projects by transnational companies that devastate their territories and, on the other, human rights violations that occur when they resist. The destruction of biodiversity and the denial of collective rights are two sides of the same coin, both driven by a global economic model that prioritizes investment over human and collective rights and the lives of indigenous communities. ...

Reflections from a Side Event on Gene Drives

Nele Mariën, Friends of the Earth International - Yesterday I attended a side event on gene drives. I am not an expert on the technology, but I do know it is one of the most controversial topics under the Convention on Biological Diversity. My main interest was understanding how dialogue with Indigenous Peoples on this issue would unfold — and whether it would reflect a genuinely participatory process.

Rethinking ecological restoration from the perspective of local communities and their ancestral knowledge

Lizet Mejía, GYBN Peru - In recent years, there has been an increase in initiatives to restore ecosystems in all their diversity, but these lack sufficient information on the contributions of indigenous peoples to restoration.

Within the Caucus, regional discussions were also held to select the Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ friends of the Bureau, and the Co-chairRegion for the SB8J-1.

They selected as friend of the COP Bureau that act as SB8J-Bureau the following: 

• Ramiro Batzin - Latin American and Caribbean Region
• Lucy Mulenkei - Africa Region
• Jennifer Corpuz - Asia Region
• Rochelle Diver - North América Region
• Gunn-Britt Retter - Arctic Region
• Alexey Tsykarev - Eastern Europe, Russian Federation, Central Asia and Transcaucasia
• Christine Teresa Grant - Pacific Region

And, from the friends of the Bureau, they selected Gunn-Britt Retter of the Arctic Region to be nominated as an Indigenous Peoples and local community co-chair of the first meeting of the SB8J-1.

The Subsidiary Body on Article 8(j) and Other Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity Related to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (SB8J) was established by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention in its decision 16/5 on Institutional arrangements for the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in the work undertaken under the Convention on Biological Diversity. The mandate of the Subsidiary Body is to provide advice to the Conference of the Parties, other subsidiary bodies and, subject to their request, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization on matters of relevance to indigenous peoples and local communities that are within the scope of the Convention and its Protocols. The IIFB has come in full force to see a dream come through and be present at a permanent space for Indigenous Peoples and local communities within the UN, after six years of negotiations.

The Conference of the Parties adopted in its decision 16/4, a programme of work on Article 8(j) and other provisions of the Convention related to indigenous peoples and local communities to 2030

At the SB8J-1, the IIFB has identified the following priorities:

Under item 4, the adoption of the modus operandi is essential to fulfilling the promise of the Subsidiary Body on Article 8(j) and Other Provisions of the Convention Relevant for Indigenous Peoples and local communities as a powerful platform for dialogue and cooperation in achieving the goals and targets of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). IIFB proposals on the modus operandi are guided by the following principles: apply, mutatis mutandis, the established and effective practices of Ad Hoc Open Ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions; simplicity and avoiding overly prescriptive language; and the modus operandi should not be more burdensome for Indigenous Peoples and local communities than for Parties.

Under Item 5, the IIFB calls for the adoption of Guidelines that recognize that Indigenous Peoples and local communities have been conserving biodiversity in their lands and territories for millenia and now want the recognition of this contribution. The Guidelines, as the international standards, should promote the identification, recognition, protection, promotion, and respect of Indigenous and Traditional Territories (ITTs) as distinct systems that support the implementation of Target 3, without the need for recognition as Protected Areas (PA) or designation as Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs).

The IIFB looks forward to an exciting and fruitful week of discussions!

The CBD must step up to break the destructive climate–biodiversity cycle

Nele Marien, Friends of the Earth International - Climate breakdown and biodiversity loss are two sides of the same crisis. As the climate heats, ecosystems collapse faster. This happens due to shifting rainfall patterns, more frequent extreme events disrupting ecosystems, degrading habitats, and exceeding species’ ability to adapt or migrate. Also the spread of devastating forest fires destroys biodiversity while accelerating global heating. As biodiversity is destroyed, the planet’s capacity to regulate the climate weakens. ...

Precautionary risk assessment needed to confront new LMO threats

Eva Sirinathsinghji, Third World Network - Emerging applications of living modified organisms (LMOs) present potentially irreversible risks and challenge current risk assessment frameworks. While first-generation living modified (LM) crops—primarily herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant varieties—have long been criticized for their impacts on biodiversity, health, and traditional agriculture, newer biotech proposals introduce even more complex biosafety concerns. ...

Precaution on Geoengineering: Essential for the synergy of Rio Conventions 

Silvia Ribeiro, HOME Alliance - In a series of pioneering precautionary decisions, the CBD agreed by consensus to prevent the impacts of climate geoengineering on biodiversity and livelihoods. The first decision on ocean fertilization was adopted in 2008 followed by another one on all forms of geoengineering in 2010. Both were reaffirmed by several COP decisions, latest in 2024.
The CBD decisions on geoengineering need to be explicitly taken into account in any joint work program of the Rio Conventions to enhance the positive synergy of the Rio Conventions and ensure that actions on climate change, desertification and land degradation go hand in hand with protecting biodiversity, livelihoods, rights and precaution. ...

Transform, not Reform!

Third World Network - Why have efforts to halt the destruction of biodiversity largely failed? 
A major reason is the failure to confront the root causes of the biodiversity crisis, resulting in outcomes that are incremental, insufficient, or ineffective. As such, the emphasis has been on reforming rather than transforming dominant systems.