From Agreement to Action: The Critical Role of Policy in Implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
- News
On December 19th, 2022, the 15th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity reached a historic agreement on a package of decisions to advance the implementation of the Convention, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). This global agreement aims to halt the unprecedented loss of biodiversity and promote the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services. On the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity and to celebrate this year’s theme “From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity”, the National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) Initiative looks to shine a light on the importance of effective policy development and implementation to support the achievements of the objectives and targets of the GBF.
National policies are critical for the delivery of the GBF
As a crucial instrument for guiding action and decision-making for the protection and conservation of biodiversity, national policies will play a decisive role in implementing the GBF. Neville Ash, Director of UNEP-WCMC, explains that “ensuring coherence across national policies is crucial to the achievement of the goals and targets set out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Delivering on ambitions for biodiversity and people requires a comprehensive understanding of – and action on – the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of nature, as well as a recognition of the interconnectedness between them”.
Without clear and coherent policies, decision-makers may lack the direction they need to address key development challenges, such as poverty reduction, environmental sustainability, and social justice. Strong and coherent policies help to mobilize resources and promote investment in these key development areas. They can help to build consensus and create a sense of ownership around key development priorities. Policymakers can promote a sense of shared responsibility for achieving the goals and targets of the newly adopted GBF by involving stakeholders in the policy development process.
To effectively protect biodiversity, policies need to be ambitious, holistic, and integrated. This requires a shift in thinking towards a more transformative approach to policy-making that prioritises biodiversity conservation and restoration as a core goal of sustainable development. This is why tools and approaches such as national ecosystem assessments are so important. Neville Ash explains that “national ecosystem assessments enable meaningful engagement with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, other relevant stakeholders, and policymakers in coming to a shared understanding of the state of knowledge and priorities for action, as well as support monitoring and evaluation of national policies in alignment with the Global Biodiversity Framework.”
How national ecosystem assessments can contribute to effective policy and decision-making
National ecosystem assessments provide decision-makers with valuable updated and comprehensive information on the status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystems, the services they provide, as well as the drivers of ecosystem change. This serves as the base line of information to develop, report, and manage with insight provided by indicators for the achievement of the international goals and targets of the GBF.
These assessments can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of existing policies at the national and sub-national levels and to identify areas for improvement as well as existing information gaps to be filled. They also help to identify areas of the environment/biodiversity that are most in need of attention and can provide decision-makers with a better understanding of the potential impacts of different policies on a variety of ecosystems including forests, mountains, marine and freshwater, wetlands, mangroves, and many other critical biodiversity and ecosystem services.
National ecosystem assessments involve extensive stakeholder engagement, which help to build consensus around policy decisions and ensure that the needs and perspectives of all relevant stakeholders are considered. Additionally, they can also enable co-creation of policies by working together with governments, the public and private sectors, as well as communities to collaboratively create solutions for their natural environment, leading to policies that are more inclusive.
This was precisely one of the key outcomes of Vietnam’s national ecosystem assessment which concluded in 2021, where the process helped increase the engagement of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and other stakeholders in policy-making. This helped to promote greater ownership and support for informed policies and decision-making at all levels, from local to national level on and related to ecosystem management. For instance, wetland conservation areas have been established – Thai Thuy-Thai Binh Province and Tam Giang-Cau Hai of Thua Thien Hue Province – based on an assessment of the economic value of wetlands. Vietnam’s assessment was also used to advise the development process of the country’s National Strategy on Environmental Protection and the Law on Environment Protection 2020. The latter has prescribed the content of “payment for natural ecosystem services” (Article 138) and its implementation demonstrates and requires the understanding and assessment of the economic value of the forest, wetlands, sea, and rocky mountain ecosystems.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) Assessment of the State of Nature and Management of Natural Resources is another example of how national ecosystem assessments can support effective policy and decision-making at the national level. BiH began their assessment in 2019, with the aim of assessing for BiH how biodiversity contributes to livelihoods, quality of life and sustainable development; the status, trends and future scenarios of biodiversity and ecosystem services; the direct and indirect drivers affecting the state of biodiversity in BiH; critical gaps in knowledge regarding biodiversity and ecosystem services; and possible policy options to support biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in the country. BiH’s assessment, which will be officially launched later in 2023, has already informed important national policy instruments such as the Environmental Strategy and Action Plan (ESAP). In particular, BiH’s assessment highlighted the current knowledge gaps that need to be addressed, institutional capacity-needs, and the importance of ongoing dialogue between science and policy to support implementation of the ESAP. Importantly, BiH’s assessment also developed novel maps with comprehensive and systematic information detailing nature’s contributions to people across BiH, which will be particularly useful for policy and planning decisions in the forestry, water management, agriculture, and energy sectors.
National ecosystem assessments are key to improving national institutions in support of the GBF
National ecosystem assessments can support the establishment or enhancement of national institutions, such as national biodiversity platforms (NBP). As described in the Guidebook on National Biodiversity Platforms: Connecting Nature and People, NBPs are science-policy-practice interfaces that convene stakeholders in dialogue and collaborative relationships to support improved consideration of biodiversity and ecosystem services in decision-making. They use structured engagement approaches, thus enriching decision-making processes by a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, policymakers, practitioners, the private sector, civil society organisations, and Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
For instance, Colombia’s NBP has been particularly useful in discussions about how Indigenous and local knowledge can be incorporated into decision-making. Decision-makers of various types have also found it useful for information and problem-solving: the Constitutional Court of Colombia required an impact assessment of mining nationwide, to which the NBP suggested using the conceptual and methodological framework of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which was subsequently adopted by the Court, and all institutions involved in the assessment.
Conclusion
Transformational change on the development and implementation of national policies is key to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and deliver across global conservation and development goals and targets.
If we are to secure a shared future for all life on Earth, and hence to successfully reach the goals and targets set out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, policies must be developed in a way that delivers on the needs of people and the planet, taking into account the interconnectedness of social, economic, and environmental factors.
Tools and approaches like the national ecosystem assessment process can be used as steppingstones to achieve meaningful progress towards these goals, as they provide relevant information to decision-making processes, build consensus among different stakeholder groups, and create a sense of ownership and accountability towards conservation and development goals.
The National Ecosystem Assessment Initiative (NEA Initiative) at UNEP-WCMC is part of the Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services Network (BES-Net), working in partnership with UNDP and UNESCO. Financial support for the NEA Initiative is being provided by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Norwegian Environmental Agency, the Japan Biodiversity Fund, and SwedBio.