Published on: 2026-08-04
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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August 4, 2026 Climate and Environment
A meeting on the implementation of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity began Tuesday in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Its participants plan to assess global progress in this area and prepare the groundwork for the key Conference of the Parties (COP-17), which will take place from October 19 to 30 in Yerevan, Armenia.
The Executive Secretary of the Convention, Astrid Schomaker, emphasized that biological diversity remains an underestimated issue compared to climate change, even though it is biodiversity that provides humanity with food, clean water, resilience to climate shocks, and development opportunities. According to her, the world is facing a profound crisis: biodiversity loss is occurring faster than efforts to stop it.
Schumacher noted the special significance of holding the meeting in Africa, which is home to about a quarter of the world’s biodiversity. The continent, at the forefront of climate upheavals, faces serious limitations in access to funding and technologies for nature protection. Key discussion topics in Nairobi will include resource mobilization, integrating biodiversity issues into economic planning, and involving financial institutions in conservation solutions.
The Executive Secretary expressed concern that the main drivers of biodiversity loss – climate change, the spread of invasive species, pollution, and overexploitation of natural resources – continue to intensify. She called the most alarming fact that the global economy “finances the destruction of nature”: states and companies spend 30 times more on activities harmful to ecosystems than on their restoration.
Schomaker also noted positive shifts: according to her, the adoption in 2022 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework Program on Biodiversity stimulated an unprecedented level of country engagement. More and more states, companies, and financial organizations are striving to assess humanity’s dependence on nature, analyze risks, and change behavior patterns. Public understanding is also growing that working in harmony with nature benefits everyone.
The Kunming-Montreal Framework Program, adopted by 196 countries, serves as a roadmap to achieve the global vision of “living in harmony with nature” by 2050. The meeting in Nairobi will be a key milestone on the path to its implementation.
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