Countries miss biodiversity targets despite set goals –UN

Nearly 90 per cent of countries have established national targets to protect and restore nature, but fewer than half of the targets assessed are on track, a United Nations report has found.

The report, titled, ‘State of Biodiversity Action’ released on Thursday, said global progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework remained insufficient despite growing commitments by governments, businesses, civil society organisations, and indigenous communities.

 The framework, adopted in December 2022, contains 23 targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and four long-term goals for 2050.

Launched by UN Secretary-General António Guterres ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Yerevan, Armenia, the report is the first global assessment of collective progress under the agreement.

It found that nearly 90 per cent of the convention’s 196 parties had established national biodiversity targets, while close to 60 per cent had developed national biodiversity strategies and action plans. More than 70 per cent had also submitted national reports, with about 5,000 commitments registered by indigenous peoples and local communities, subnational governments, businesses, and civil society groups.

The report warned, however, that these commitments were not translating into sufficient action, with gaps in financing, data, international cooperation, and implementation threatening efforts to meet the 2030 deadline.

“The report shows that many of the critical elements of progress, including finance, capacity, cooperation, and data, are still missing in action.

“Nature won’t thrive on good intentions. Guided by the evidence in this report, we can halt and reverse biodiversity loss and secure the natural foundations upon which all human life and prosperity depend,” he said.

The report identified land- and sea-use changes, unsustainable exploitation of species, climate change, pollution, and invasive alien species among the major drivers of biodiversity loss.

It said reversing the trend would require governments to move beyond environment ministries and integrate biodiversity protection into decisions on agriculture, fisheries, forestry, infrastructure, finance, and business.

One of the major concerns identified in the report is the shortfall between countries’ national commitments and the global ambition to conserve at least 30 per cent of the world’s land and sea areas by 2030.

The report said current national pledges remained insufficient to meet the target, known as Target 3 of the global biodiversity framework.

It also highlighted gaps in efforts to reform harmful incentives and subsidies that encourage activities damaging to nature. Although many countries have set targets to promote positive incentives for conservation, fewer have committed to reducing harmful subsidies, as required under Target 18.

Targets involving business action, sustainable consumption, harmful incentives, and finance were among those lagging furthest behind, underscoring the need for governments to involve economic sectors in biodiversity protection.

The report called for increased investment in conservation and ecosystem restoration, improved disclosure of businesses’ impacts and dependence on nature, and reforms to redirect funding away from activities that accelerate biodiversity loss.

It also stressed the importance of indigenous peoples and local communities, whose traditional knowledge and stewardship contribute to ecosystem protection, food and water security, livelihoods, and economic resilience.

For Nigeria, the findings highlight the importance of translating biodiversity commitments into measurable action to protect forests, wetlands, coastal ecosystems, and wildlife while addressing pollution and the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources.

The country’s ecosystems face pressures from deforestation, habitat loss, agricultural expansion, illegal wildlife trade, pollution from industrial activities and oil operations, and the effects of climate change.

Wetlands and coastal habitats also provide breeding grounds for fish, support fishing livelihoods, and help protect communities against flooding and coastal erosion.

Their degradation can therefore affect food security, household incomes, and the resilience of communities dependent on natural resources.

The report’s emphasis on financing, data, and coordination is particularly relevant to countries seeking to balance conservation with development needs.

Effective implementation requires reliable biodiversity monitoring, enforcement of environmental laws, adequate funding, and the participation of communities whose livelihoods depend on forests, fisheries, and other ecosystems.

Meanwhile, a Chartered Environmentalist and Senior Policy Analyst at the Society for Planet and Prosperity, Gboyega Olorunfemi, has urged Nigeria to push for stronger biodiversity financing, transparent monitoring, and accountability at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, warning that weak environmental governance is allowing degradation to outpace conservation efforts.

Olorunfemi said Nigeria’s environmental crisis was driven by three interconnected challenges: ecosystem degradation caused by pollution, weak enforcement of environmental laws, and the growing effects of climate change.

“Challenges were evident in oil spills, gas flaring, untreated industrial effluents, plastic pollution, and agricultural runoff, which continue to threaten rivers, wetlands, forests, lagoons, and coastal ecosystems.

“Climate change is worsening flooding, coastal erosion, desertification, and biodiversity loss, threatening livelihoods and putting additional pressure on already degraded ecosystems,” he said.

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Olorunfemi argued that previous conservation efforts had achieved limited results because they often concentrated on individual projects without addressing the governance and economic systems responsible for environmental damage.

“Restoration initiatives are often underfunded, poorly coordinated, and rarely sustained beyond political or donor cycles,” he said.

He added that local communities, despite being primary custodians of biodiversity and often the first to respond to environmental crises, were frequently excluded from decisions affecting their natural resources.

He also warned that economic incentives continued to favour activities that degrade ecosystems, while compromised community leadership could undermine conservation initiatives.

“Unless Nigeria addresses governance, financing, and implementation together, environmental degradation will continue to outpace conservation efforts,” he added.

Olorunfemi said biodiversity conservation should not be viewed merely as an effort to protect wildlife and trees, arguing that healthy ecosystems were fundamental to food security, public health, employment, and economic development.

He explained that forests help regulate rainfall and support agriculture, wetlands filter water, mangroves provide natural protection against coastal hazards, and rivers and oceans sustain fisheries that supply food and income to millions of people.

According to him, ecosystem degradation can reduce crop yields, deplete fish stocks, worsen flooding and water pollution, and increase public health risks.

These effects, he said, could translate into higher food prices, reduced household incomes, greater poverty, and increased pressure on health services.

“Protecting nature is therefore not an environmental luxury; it is a necessity for development and public health,” he said.

Olorunfemi called on Nigeria to use the conference to push for greater access to international biodiversity financing, including support through the Global Environment Facility and the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, as well as progress on the Cali Fund.

He said funding arrangements should be accessible to developing countries and support community-led restoration, rather than leaving vulnerable communities dependent on short-term projects.

He also advocated results-based financing, under which funding would be linked to measurable restoration outcomes and supported by transparent monitoring, independent verification, and public reporting.

Such mechanisms, he argued, would help ensure that conservation announcements translated into projects that delivered tangible environmental and livelihood benefits.

He further identified debt-for-nature swaps, blue-carbon investments, biodiversity credits with credible environmental safeguards, and public-private partnerships as potential sources of funding for restoration.

However, he stressed that these financing mechanisms must be supported by strong accountability and safeguards to prevent funds from being diverted or projects from failing to deliver their promised benefits.

The report will inform the first global review of collective progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at COP17, scheduled to be held in Yerevan from October 19 to 30.

Governments are expected to assess implementation, identify shortcomings, and consider measures to accelerate action before the 2030 deadline.

Armenia’s Minister of Environment and incoming COP17 president, Hambardzum Matevosyan, said the conference would provide an opportunity to determine what had worked, where progress was falling short, and what needed to change.

“We know where we stand,” said Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. “We know where the gaps are. Now we must work together to close them.”

She said COP17 offered an opportunity to build on existing achievements, strengthen cooperation, and place biodiversity at the centre of decisions across governments and society.

The Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Inger Andersen, also warned against treating biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution as separate challenges.

“We cannot tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution in isolation,” she said, calling for stronger implementation as climate impacts place increasing pressure on nature.

Ahead of the conference, Armenia hosted the Leaders Summit on Biodiversity on Friday, October 16, under the theme “Leaders for Nature.” The summit is expected to bring together political leaders to discuss the report’s findings and build support for implementation of the global framework.

With the 2030 deadline approaching, the report’s central warning is that the expansion of national commitments must now be matched by stronger financing, coordinated policies, and measurable results on the ground.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted at COP15 in December 2022, set a historic baseline with 23 global targets to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, making COP17 in Yerevan a critical juncture for evaluating early implementation milestones.