[Above photo: At the final plenary of CBD CoP17, Astrid Schomaker, CBD Executive Secretary, consults with H.E. Hambardzum Matevosyan, President of CBD CoP17. Credit: ©️WCS.]
 

YEREVAN, ARMENIA, October 31, 2026 — The UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17), with nearly 200 governments participating, put forth a clearer picture of the global biodiversity crisis and the gaps that must be closed to meet the world’s 2030 targets. But the Yerevan Pathway and the conference’s other outcomes do not deliver the new level of ambition needed to put the world on track, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said today.

Said Dr. Susan Lieberman, WCS Vice President for International Policy: “COP17 was well organized by the Government of Armenia and provided a great platform for sharing, networking, and learning. 

“But the negotiations themselves ended up weak on ambition. We are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis, and timidity will not save nature–we need strong outcomes for wildlife and wild places, not only outputs and great speeches.

“This meeting should have been a turning point, not just a stocktake. Success required governments to commit the political will and financing needed to reverse biodiversity loss. That means protecting and restoring ecological integrity, respecting the rights and leadership of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and reducing the drivers of decline. With just four years until 2030, we cannot afford another conference that diagnoses the crisis without accelerating the cure.

"The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework from 2022 remains a vital and ambitious global agreement. If all of the targets are delivered, as governments committed, then nature will indeed be on the path to recovery. COP17 has clarified the challenge; now governments must summon the political will, resources and resolve to meet it. We applaud the Armenian Government, the CBD Secretariat, and many governments and partners for a keeping the momentum moving toward achieving the 2030 goals and targets. But ‘good enough’ should never be acceptable.”

Said Alfred DeGemmis, WCS Director of International Policy: “This year’s UN biodiversity summit was the crash after several years of sugar-rushed optimism about global biodiversity targets. The obstructionist politics of the climate talks have entered the biodiversity negotiations, and identifying transformative actions will require ambitious leaders willing to spend political capital."

The first global review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework underscored urgency. While countries have made progress in developing national biodiversity targets and plans, fewer than half of the national targets are on track. Current ambition also falls short of the goal to conserve at least 30 percent of land and sea by 2030, while gaps in finance, capacity and data continue to impede progress. The review of the targets provides an important basis for action. The test now is whether governments use it to change course and accelerate implementation.

WCS Assessment of Key COP17 Outcomes: 

Yerevan Pathway: Governments completed the global review of collective progress, adopting a decision that included a forward-looking ‘Yerevan Pathway.’ However, the final version largely refers to previously agreed text and is often imprecise on practical steps to close the implementation gap. Positive developments include the inclusion of language on ecosystem monitoring and subsidy reform, which are both critical to reversing biodiversity loss. 

30x30 and Biodiversity Outcomes: Collectively, governments are inching toward the global goal terrestrially and making significant progress in coastal waters–and some have made outstanding progress. However, the long-term goal is to successfully halt and reverse biodiversity loss, and to ensure that protected and conserved areas are effectively and equitably managed. The CoP adopted an updated program of work on protected areas that presents an opportunity to refocus on reversing biodiversity loss.

30x30 and the OECM Action Hub: WCS welcomes the launch of the Yerevan Global OECM Action Hub as a positive step toward advancing other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs). The Hub must contribute to real progress toward 30x30, alongside the expansion of protected areas, and that all protected and conserved areas must be effectively and equitably managed and deliver measurable biodiversity outcomes.

Climate and Biodiversity Synergies: WCS came to COP17 hoping for concrete steps to address the interlinked climate and biodiversity crises: stronger synergy among the Rio Conventions and a roadmap to help countries coordinate action under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement. High-level events convened by the CBD COP16, UNCCD COP16, and UNFCCC COP31 presidencies reinforced the urgency and showcased integrated action already underway. 

Unfortunately, the COP17 outcomes are too timid. The COP17 decision merely encourages countries to begin applying a set of voluntary guidelines, which will be negotiated further before COP18. This “kicking the can down the road” falls far short of what is needed at a time when climate change poses a significant threat to biodiversity ecosystems, and the loss and degradation of ecosystems is driving emissions and reducing the capacity of people and nature to adapt.

And where will CBD CoP18 be? Delegates voted for CoP18 to be in Quito, Ecuador, in 2028.

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