First draft of the Global Biodiversity Framework released

The first-order draft of the Global Biodiversity Framework was released on 12 July 2021 and marks a major milestone for governments to agree on a set of goals and targets to halt and reverse the alarming global decline of biodiversity. The draft Framework aims to set measurable goal, milestones to 2030 and targets to reach the 2050 vision of the Convention on Biological Diversity to live in harmony with nature through the valuing, conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity.

The fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity is expected to adopt a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. This is a pivotal moment to stop and reverse biodiversity loss and transform our relationships with nature. The framework is intended to accelerate efforts to halt and reverse the alarming global decline of biodiversity, contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and facilitate the transformational changes needed to place the global community on a path towards realizing the 2050 Vision of Living in Harmony with Nature. The on-going negotiations must achieve ambitious yet workable set of goals, targets and indicators to protect and restore nature and equitably share its benefits. The ISC has contributed to date in the process in two ways.

The ISC co-organized the Fifth Science-Policy Forum for Biodiversity in April 2021, with the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), the CBD secretariat, the consortium of scientific partners on biodiversity, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, and other partners. The Forum delivered a report to the 24th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA). In addition, Future Earth has led a major contribution in the early phase of the process, culminating in the Díaz et al. 2020 set ambitious goals for biodiversity and sustainability article in Science.

Members of the ISC community who are actively engaged in the process to develop Global Biodiversity Framework are invited to contact the Secretariat ([email protected]). The ISC secretariat will work with Future Earth to communicate available scientific evidence in support of the global deliberations.

Image: UNDP / Vlad Sokhin on Flickr