Highlights and images for 6 August 2026

Slightly behind schedule but pressing ahead to complete its agenda, the seventh meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI 7) tackled an impressive number of issues on the third day of negotiations.  

Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) emerged as one of the Convention's most inclusive spaces, providing Parties, Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs), youth, and other stakeholders clear entry points to participation. The portrayal of nature as a classroom brought to the forefront the role of outdoor learning and direct engagement with biodiversity towards the fulfilment of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). 

Plenary sessions convened in the morning and for a short while in the afternoon, with delegates deliberating on: 

• Synthetic biology;  
• Engagement with subnational governments, cities and other local authorities to enhance GBF implementation; 
• CEPA; and 
• Administrative and budgetary matters. 

SBI 7 Chair Clarissa Souza Della Nina (Brazil) reported sufficient convergence among Parties in the discussions on synthetic biology, engagement with subnational governments, and CEPA for the preparation of Conference Room Papers (CRPs) for plenary consideration later in the meeting.

Discussions on the administrative and budgetary matters concluded with an agreement to convene informal consultation among Parties over the course of the meeting to advance inputs towards decisions for the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 17).  

In the afternoon, negotiations shifted to contact groups, where delegates continued detailed discussions to resolve outstanding issues to prepare draft recommendations for adoption later in the meeting.

The Contact Group on Mainstreaming of Biodiversity, co-chaired by Hesiquio Benítez Díaz (Mexico) and Scott Wilson (Canada), convened to discuss draft decisions on the topic. Discussions proceeded on the Co-Chairs' non-paper, which consolidates 50 submissions made by Parties during the previous day's plenary discussions on the topic, including the advance submissions.

The Contact Group on Digital Sequence Information on genetic resources (DSI), co-chaired by Nneka Nicholas (Antigua and Barbuda) and Ida Hellmark (Norway), convened for its first session, with a number of delegations calling to prioritize discussion on the possible additional modalities of the Multilateral Mechanism for the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits from the use of DSI. On this item, delegates are expected to meet in an informal session over lunch on Friday to consider the governance arrangements of the Cali Fund.

In the evening, the Contact Group on Planning, Monitoring, Reporting and Review continued its deliberations.