The 26th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-26) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has concluded recently.
About
The SBSTTA is a multidisciplinary body open to all Contracting parties, which provides scientific and technical assessments of the status of biodiversity.
It recommended fully implementing The Biodiversity Plan adopted in Montreal in 2022.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)
GBF was adopted by the COP15 to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2022.
Its tentative title had been the “Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework”.
It has been promoted as a “Paris Agreement for Nature”.
The GBF contains 4 global goals and 23 targets.
“Target 3” is especially referred to as the “30X30” target.
COP15 Outcomes: ’30X30 target
Under it, delegates committed to protecting 30% of land and 30% of coastal and marine areas by 2030, fulfilling the deal’s highest-profile goal, known as 30-by-30.
The deal also aspires to restore 30% of degraded lands and waters throughout the decade, up from an earlier aim of 20%.
Also, the world will strive to prevent destroying intact landscapes and areas with a lot of species, bringing those losses “close to zero by 2030”.
They would be deliberated upon further at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16).
The conference will be held in the Colombian city of Cali from October 21-November 1, 2024.
Issues Discussed at the Meeting
Scientific and technical needs to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Detection and identification of living modified organisms.
Risk assessment and risk management.
Synthetic biology.
Marine and coastal biodiversity: Ecologically or biologically significant marine areas and Conservation & sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity.
Biodiversity and health.
Monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The meeting set the stage for a potential agreement on how the world defines — and consequently protects — ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSA).
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
CBD is the international legal instrument for “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources”.
It was signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, and it has been ratified by 196 nations.
Its overall objective is to encourage actions, which will lead to a sustainable future.
It has two supplementary agreements, the Cartagena Protocol and the Nagoya Protocol.
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by genetically modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.
The Nagoya Protocol aims for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.
The CBD’s governing body is the Conference of the Parties (COP).
All parties that have ratified the treaty meet every two years to review progress, set priorities, and commit to work plans.
The Secretariat of the CBD is based in Montreal, Canada.
