Almost two years have passed by since the expiration of the Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which includes the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The past two years have been some of the most tremulous times for nature and humans as the world was thrown into an unprecedented health pandemic—COVID-19. Alongside several health and socio-economic impacts, the pandemic brought negotiations of UN bodies, such as the CBD, to a near halt. As the world embarks on post-pandemic recovery, the CBD is under pressure to deliver on a new set of targets that unite nations to tackle biodiversity loss.

The fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP-15), scheduled to be held in the third quarter of 2022, under the theme, “Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth,” will be the launching pad of the new global biodiversity targets—the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF).

The process for the development of the post-2020 GBF was mandated by CBD COP- 14, which established an Open‑ended Intersessional Working Group and adopted the process for the preparation of the GBF (CBD/COP/DEC/14/34). The Working Group (WG), which is composed of parties to the CBD, and its Nagoya and Cartagena Protocols, was set to meet three times before CBD COP-15, under the leadership of Co-Chairs Francis Ogwal (Uganda) and Basile van Havre (Canada).

During the first meeting, held on 27-30 August 2019, at the UN Office in Nairobi, Kenya, the WG discussed elements of the structure and scope of the GBF, and requested the Co-Chairs and the CBD Executive Secretary to prepare a detailed workplan, and a zero draft text be circulated six weeks prior to the second meeting.

The second meeting of the WG convened on 24-29 February 2020 in Rome, Italy at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This meeting had been scheduled to take place in Kunming, China, but was relocated to Rome due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in China. At this meeting, participants commented on the zero draft, and approved a recommendation inviting the 24th meeting of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-24) to provide scientific and technical review of updated goals and targets, and related indicators and baselines, and to provide an analysis of linkages to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WG also requested the Co-Chairs and the Secretariat to prepare a first draft of the GBF.

The third meeting was convened in two parts. The first part consisted of virtual negotiations from 23 August - 3 September 2021, through five contact groups on Goals, Milestones and Overall Structure; Reducing Threats for Biodiversity; Tools and Solutions for Implementation and Biodiversity Mainstreaming; Nature’s Contributions to People; and Digital Sequence Information (DSI) on genetic resources. The reports of the contact groups formed a basis of negotiations of the second part of the meeting.

The second part of the third meeting was held on 14-29 March 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Conference included SBSTTA-24 and the third meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI-3). The WG advanced work on indicators for the GBF, laying out options for future discussions. They also agreed on a way forward on DSI on genetic resources and a schedule of intersessional work. SBSTTA-24 provided scientific and technical advice to support, among others, the review of the monitoring framework for the GBF. SBI-3 provided support on financial resources and means of implementation; capacity building and development; review of effectiveness procedures; communication; and the review mechanism.

The fourth meeting will continue negotiations on the GBF, drawing on recommendations from previous meetings, the reports from SBI-3 and SBSTTA-24, and the outcomes of relevant intersessional processes. This meeting will be preceded by a workshop on options to enhance planning, monitoring, reporting, and review mechanisms. This workshop will be convened from 17-18 June 2022 to inform related discussions at WG and at CBD COP-15.

The fourth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework will convene from 21-26 June 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya.