Highlights and images for 5 August 2026

In a bid to complete the first reading of its extensive agenda and set the stage for detailed negotiations, the seventh meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI 7) shifted into high gear, rapidly moving through a series of substantive agenda items in plenary.  

The accelerated pace was designed to ensure that all issues reached the appropriate stage of negotiation early in the meeting, either advancing directly to Conference Room Papers (CRPs) where broad agreement had emerged, or being referred to contact groups for more candid discussions.

Plenary began with an update from the Contact Group on planning, monitoring, reporting and review (PMRR), co-chaired by Sanne Kruid (Netherlands) and Sivendra Michael (Fiji), mandated to tackle implementation issues without renegotiating SBSTTA 28 recommendations. Co-Chair Michael reported that the group had considered questions that would inform the preparation of the Co-Chairs non-paper: whether to encourage new or increased commitments on means of implementation; and how to integrate lessons learned from the first global review of GBF implementation (GRI) cycles to inform the second GRI. He reported that the group will continue to meet over the week.

Throughout the day, plenary carried out substantive deliberations focused on: 

• Financial Mechanism; 
• Capacity-building and development and technical and scientific cooperation; 
• Mainstreaming of biodiversity within and across sectors; 
• Fifth assessment and review of the effectiveness of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and midterm evaluation of the implementation plan and the capacity-building action plan for the Protocol; 
• Second assessment and review of the effectiveness of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilization; 
• Synthetic biology: thematic action plan to support capacity-building and development, access to and transfer of technology and knowledge-sharing.

Discussions on the financial mechanism, capacity-building and technical and scientific cooperation, biodiversity mainstreaming, and synthetic biology will now continue in contact groups as negotiations intensify over the coming days. 

During the lunch break, Armenia, as incoming President of the Seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP 17) held a special event titled, "Road to COP 17" to inform delegations on preparations for COP 17, which will take place in Yerevan from 19 to 30 October 2026.

The contact groups on Resource Mobilization and Capacity Building met in the evening.