Yerevan, Armenia, Oct. 27, 2026 — The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) delegation is deeply concerned governments at the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD CoP17) will resort to more process and not progress on integrating the world's climate and biodiversity agendas and actions. 

The following statement was issued today from Wildlife Conservation Society's Carlos Rittl:

"COP16 in Cali, 2024, adopted a landmark decision recognizing that climate and biodiversity must be tackled in an integrated way, and affirmed that protecting and restoring ecological integrity contribute to addressing both climate change and biodiversity loss. At COP17 in Yerevan, parties have the opportunity to turn that commitment into concrete action.

"However, WCS is concerned about the direction the negotiations are taking. The text under discussion risks reducing the outcome of COP17 to a review process for a multilevel roadmap aimed at enhancing policy coherence between the Rio Conventions. The roadmap introduced at COP17 is a concrete, actionable and voluntary document that reflects valuable parties and expert inputs collected all through the year. Parties should welcome it as a basis for further cooperation, not merely send it out for another round of consultations.

"WCS is equally concerned that the language on ecological integrity, a central principle of the Cali decision, would not be reflected in a decision at the end of the Conference. Ecosystem integrity is a key nexus for synergistic action on climate and biodiversity, and the evidence is clear that it drives climate regulation and delivers outsized returns for mitigation, adaptation, and biodiversity recovery. We urge Parties to collaborate for an outcome at COP17 that ensures progress, fosters coordination among the Rio Conventions, and supports national governments to implement holistic solutions to the multiple and entwined crises."

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