Kunming Dialogue closes with call for   accelerated biodiversity action ahead of COP 17 

AFOLABI SAHEED OLAWALE 

In the lead-up to the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) in Yerevan, Armenia as part of the October 2026 UN Biodiversity Conference, experts representing Parties, indigenous peoples and local communities, women, youth and other stakeholders came together from 7 – 9 September 2026 in Kunming, China to discuss how to close critical gaps in implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, now at the halfway point to its 2030 targets. 

The informal dialogue was co-chaired by Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment of China and President of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15), and Nathalie Provost, Secretary of State (Nature) of Canada and host of COP 15 in Montreal.

The dialogue aimed to identify ways to address gaps in implementation which are summarized in the draft first global report on KMGBF progress, the State of Biodiversity Action, which will be officially released next month.

Noting the report’s messaging around the need to accelerate progress, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity Astrid Schomaker says: “Collectively we are not moving at the scale and pace needed. We need a whole-of-society surge of biodiversity action for the world to reach the Global Biodiversity Framework targets by 2030. This dialogue has provided a timely opportunity to identify ways in which governments and their constituencies can address the gaps revealed by the State of Biodiversity Action report and bring about the required acceleration.”

The outcomes of the Kunming Dialogue, like the report itself, will inform the first global review of collective progress taking place at the 2026 UN Biodiversity Conference, including COP 17, happening from 19 – 30 October in Yerevan.

At the centre of discussions were some of the most persistent barriers to faster progress: gaps in the scope and coverage of national action; the pace of implementation; finance and other means of implementation; whole-of-government and whole-of-society action; and the data and knowledge needed to track progress.

In their Summary of the meeting, the Co-Chairs note these gaps are intrinsically linked and provide views on how to overcome barriers and accelerate implementation. The Summary highlights that between now and 2030, the priority should be to close implementation gaps, including by prioritizing lagging targets, particularly those that address the indirect drivers of biodiversity loss. Gaps could be partially addressed by building political will and broadening action across government, business and society. This would

require strengthening the business case for the Framework and translating its concepts and terminology into plain language.

There was also broad recognition during the Dialogue that finance, capacity-building, technology and other means of implementation are equally important to effective implementation of the Framework. However, participants noted that support is not yet available at the scale needed, while reliance on short-term funding creates barriers to long-term planning and implementation.

Participants in the Dialogue further noted that reforming harmful subsidies, building a better business case for biodiversity and developing national-level institutional architecture to enhance synergies among the three Rio Conventions and other multilateral environmental agreements could improve effectiveness and help increase availability of domestic and international public and private finance.

In the words of Minister Huang, Minister of Ecology and Environment of China and co-chair of the Kunming Dialogue: “Faced with serious implementation challenges and sizable gaps, all Parties must take action immediately. With firm political will, a strong sense of urgency, and practical measures, we should translate the KMGBF targets into national policies and concrete actions, while fostering broad consensus, deep mutual trust, and inclusive participation of diverse stakeholders. We need to speed up delivery of pledges on resource mobilization and capacity-building. And we must scale up financial, technical and other support for developing countries to drive the KMGBF forward.”

The Honourable Nathalie Provost, Secretary of State (Nature), Canada, and co-Chair of the Kunming Dialogue, said: “Protecting nature requires both local stewardship and international cooperation. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework shows what countries can achieve when we work together toward a common goal, and our continued cooperation remains essential for successful implementation. The active engagement in the Kunming Dialogue is testament to our shared commitment to advancing the Framework and turning our shared ambition for nature into action.”

The outcomes of the Kunming Dialogue will now help shape the Global Review at COP 17, where Parties will consider collective progress and agree on the way forward to achieve the Framework’s 2030 targets. Convened under the motto of “Taking Action for Nature,” COP 17 will be an important milestone for accelerating implementation.

His Excellency Mr. Hambardzum Matevosyan, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Armenia and President Designate of COP 17, said at the closing of the Dialogue: “As incoming Presidency of COP 17, we want Yerevan to be a place where we are honest about the gaps, but equally ambitious about the solutions. We want the global review to help strengthen implementation, mobilise action, and create the conditions for countries and all stakeholders to deliver on their commitments. And we want the outcomes of this Kunming Dialogue to contribute directly to that effort. For Armenia, the road from Kunming to Yerevan is therefore a road from commitment to implementation.”