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The Ocean is the Great Connector—linking peoples, cultures, economies, and ecosystems. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) recognizes this connection, with nearly all targets containing a link to the Ocean. Ocean Day at COP 16 celebrated those relationships, uniting global actors from diverse fields, working to advance ocean conservation, research, and sustainable use. Ocean Day featured engaging, interactive events, with audience polls, videos and musical interludes, talk-show formats, and theater, designed to inspire action to accelerate efforts on implementing the GBF.

This event was the final session of Trade Day, which focused on the relationship between international trade and biodiversity conservation. Presentations and discussions addressed how sustainable trade can foster resilient livelihoods, improve community well-being, and conserve biodiversity.

The intertwined nature of climate and biodiversity calls for a more aligned approach in addressing these issues. Synergies have already been identified through national experiences, as reflected in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). While they exist under different conventions, building upon their synergies can result in a more effective solution to the climate and biodiversity crisis.

The challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and unsustainable use of resources require synergies across global, national, and local levels. The scientific assessments provided by intergovernmental panels that address these issue can help only if they are transformed into actionable steps. This event invited speakers to exchange views on how scientific data can guide and be guided by environmental conservation.

The energy industry powers many businesses and much of society but puts immense pressure on the environment. As such, the move towards clean energy requires initiatives to ensure that biodiversity and ecosystem integrity are conserved. Efforts towards energy transition should not exclude biodiversity conservation – rather, they should work concomitantly to ensure the best synergies that benefit the climate-biodiversity-nexus.

This all-day event included distinct sessions focused on the interlinkages between forests and water-related ecosystems as key to implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. 

Access and benefit sharing (ABS) of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge benefits from an exchange of experiences, challenges, and information. This event highlighted the contribution of the Brogota Project in helping stakeholders understand and compare relevant legislations around the world.

With momentum increasing for implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and its targets, the issue of gender-responsiveness finds itself at the forefront of addressing the inequalities that drive the biodiversity crisis. This event invited attendees to reflect on different approaches to achieve gender equality in the context of the global biodiversity targets.

Forests provide 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity; yet each year over 10 million hectares of forests are lost to deforestation. The Forest Ecosystem Restoration Initiative (FERI), a collaborative project supported by the Korea Forest Service and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), is working to help countries achieve key biodiversity targets related to ecosystem restoration, habitat conservation, and forest rehabilitation through technical support, capacity building, and funding. This event featured successes and challenges associated with forest restoration, including current and future collaborative initiatives.