CBD COP17: Nigeria’s environment minister arrives Armenia for biodiversity talks

Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, has arrived in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, to participate in the ongoing 17th session of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17).

Mr Lawal arrived on Monday, ahead of the high-level segment scheduled for 27 and 28 October, when ministers and other senior government officials are expected to address barriers to implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted in 2022.

According to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat, approximately 1,500 people, including 140 ministers and deputy ministers of finance and environment, are expected to participate in the high-level segment.

The segment comes as negotiations enter their final stretch, with delegates seeking to translate global biodiversity commitments into concrete action before the conference concludes.

The CBD Secretariat said negotiators made progress during the opening week, adopting four decisions under COP17 on invasive alien species, gender, education and knowledge management.

Eight substantive decisions were also adopted under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, covering monitoring and reporting, compliance, and the strengthening of national processes for effective implementation.

Additionally, two decisions advancing the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing were achieved, focusing on monitoring and reporting and compliance.

Among other issues, the global review of progress towards the biodiversity framework will consider evidence from the State of Biodiversity Action report, launched by UN Secretary-General António Guterres ahead of COP17. The report found widespread national commitment but significant gaps in ambition and implementation.

“COP17 is enabling a total mobilisation of more than $1.8 billion from all sources — governments, philanthropic organisations and investors — in support of strong biodiversity action,” said COP17 President Hambardzum Matevosyan.

“The first week has shown that cooperation can deliver progress. The second week must demonstrate that political commitment can deliver action.”

Nigeria, Africa’s priorities

Since negotiations began last week, biodiversity financing has remained one of the most contentious issues, particularly for developing countries seeking substantial financial support to implement the global framework.

Discussions have focused on mobilising additional public and private funding, improving access to existing resources and redirecting environmentally harmful subsidies towards activities that support nature conservation.

A major issue is the implementation of the Cali Fund, established following COP16 to support benefit-sharing from the commercial use of digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources.

The mechanism seeks to ensure that companies benefiting from the commercial use of such information contribute to biodiversity conservation and its sustainable use.

For African countries, the debate is closely linked to equity, resource ownership and the continent’s capacity to finance conservation.

African negotiators argue that the continent’s rich biological resources support commercial activities worldwide, while the benefits generated from their use do not adequately reach the countries and communities from which those resources originate.

They are pushing for benefit-sharing arrangements that deliver tangible financial resources for biodiversity protection, community development and the implementation of national conservation plans.

Negotiators are also discussing ways to mobilise private investment and redirect environmentally harmful subsidies. The global biodiversity framework calls for at least $500 billion annually in harmful incentives to be eliminated or redirected by 2030.

Upon his arrival at the COP17 venue, Mr Lawal was received by Nigerian delegates and national focal points.

The minister also formally presented certificates for the $50,000 Rapid Deployment Mechanism (RDM) grants won by Nigeria and six other countries to Joseph Onoja, director-general of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), and members of his team.

PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier that Nigeria and six other countries under the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People won $50,000 seed grants each under the RDM to execute projects aimed at accelerating progress towards their 30×30 conservation targets.

The 30×30 target seeks to ensure that at least 30 per cent of the world’s land and sea areas are effectively conserved and managed by 2030.

Mr Lawal is expected to deliver Nigeria’s national statement during the high-level segment.

Final stretch

As the UN Biodiversity Conference enters its final week, governments face the challenge of resolving outstanding disagreements over biodiversity financing and economic incentives that continue to drive nature loss.

The conference comprises COP17, the 12th Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the sixth Meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing. It is scheduled to close on Friday.

The CBD Secretariat said the second week of negotiations must demonstrate that political commitments can translate into action.

Conference organisers said achieving meaningful results would require governments to place biodiversity at the centre of economic and financial decision-making, a priority underscored by the participation of finance ministers.

“Nature is not a luxury we protect when economies can afford it. Nature is what makes economies possible. The arrival of finance ministers at COP17 sends an important signal,” said Inger Andersen, United Nations under-secretary-general and executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

“Biodiversity loss is not simply an environmental problem. It is an economic problem, and the solutions must reach into the heart of economic decision-making.”

The scale of the challenge is reflected in financial incentives that continue to drive biodiversity loss, often undermining investments in conservation and restoration.

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“Financing the destruction of nature with 30 dollars against every dollar spent restoring it is like paying 30 people to tear down your house for every one hired to rebuild it,” said Astrid Schomaker, executive secretary of the CBD.

Ms Schomaker identified three priorities for translating commitments into results: accountability, alignment and acceleration.

Accountability involves using national reports, scientific evidence and the first global review to identify shortcomings and guide stronger action.

Alignment requires ensuring that public budgets, private investments, economic policies and financial incentives support, rather than undermine, global biodiversity objectives.

Acceleration entails moving faster to implement the framework’s 23 targets by 2030.

“The global review showed us where progress is being made and where we are falling behind,” she said. “Yerevan focuses all Parties on closing those gaps.”

However, closing the gaps will require governments to overcome significant differences in the negotiations.

Major questions remain over which countries and stakeholders should contribute to international biodiversity financing, how much funding should be mobilised and the mechanisms through which the resources should be channelled.

Parties also remain divided over language on reducing or phasing out harmful incentives, including agricultural subsidies.

Other unresolved issues include which commercial users of digital sequence information should contribute to the Cali Fund, arrangements for a new permanent body on Indigenous Peoples and local communities under Article 8(j) of the Convention, and how biodiversity action should align with climate commitments and other international obligations.