9 biodiversity projects unveiled at COP17

China announced nine new projects under the Kunming Biodiversity Fund at the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP17, which concluded in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, on Saturday, according to a media release from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

The projects, which constitute the first phase of the fund's third batch, have a combined budget of around $4.5 million and cover Armenia, Bangladesh, Benin, Cameroon, Cuba, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Somalia and Vietnam, the ministry said.

In October 2021, during the leaders' summit of COP15, China announced a 1.5 billion yuan contribution to establish the fund. China has since allocated a total of 400 million yuan ($60 million) to it. The first two batches, comprising 31 projects, have benefited 45 developing countries, the release said.

The Kunming Biodiversity Fund has emerged as an important platform for global biodiversity governance. However, additional resources and stronger international cooperation are urgently required, as the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework has fallen short of expectations, the ministry said.

Adopted during China's presidency of COP15 in late 2022, the framework sets 23 action-oriented global targets for 2030. One of its key goals is to ensure that at least 30 percent of degraded terrestrial, inland water, marine and coastal ecosystems are under effective restoration.

Since the adoption of the framework, global political commitment to biodiversity conservation has remained strong, protected areas have continued to expand and the rate of forest loss has slowed significantly, the release said. However, global biodiversity conservation continues to face severe challenges, including inadequate financing and gaps in technology and institutional capacity, it added.

The ministry called on parties to translate the findings of the first global review of collective progress in implementing the framework into concrete action, explore innovative financing models and strengthen monitoring, assessment and data sharing.

Review outcome

The global review was a central task of COP17. One of the conference's major outcomes was the adoption of the Yerevan Pathway, a negotiated response to the review.

Embedded in the decision on the global review, the pathway identifies several priorities through 2030, including accelerating implementation, broadening the coverage of national targets, strengthening financial and other support, engaging governments and society more widely, and improving monitoring and knowledge-sharing.

Negotiators also adopted decisions on issues including protected areas and forest biodiversity, sustainable wildlife management, invasive alien species, marine and coastal biodiversity and synthetic biology.

Beyond the negotiations, nearly $2 billion in new biodiversity funding was announced during the conference, according to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The decision on the global review specifically thanked China for hosting the Kunming Dialogue in September this year to support preparations for the review. It also acknowledged financial support provided by the China Trust Fund through the United Nations Environment Programme.

In an interview with Xinhua News Agency during the conference, COP17 President Hambardzum Matevosyan said that China had made important contributions to advancing negotiations, from the preparatory work to formal discussions.

Such cooperation has practical significance as countries seek to overcome barriers to implementation, Matevosyan said, adding that national experiences can help identify approaches that other countries could adapt to their own circumstances.

Inger Andersen, executive director of the UNEP, also recognized China's continued leadership following its COP15 presidency, particularly through the establishment of the Kunming Biodiversity Fund. She stressed the importance of helping developing countries access the financing needed to implement the agreement.