Physical Address
23,24,25 & 26, 2nd Floor, Software Technology Park India, Opp: Garware Stadium,MIDC, Chikalthana, Aurangabad, Maharashtra – 431001 India
As the COP16 biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia, approaches, more than 85% of countries have missed the United Nations’ deadline to submit new national biodiversity pledges, known as National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), according to a joint investigation by Carbon Brief and The Guardian. These plans, integral to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), are meant to guide nations in reversing nature loss by 2030.
Missed Deadlines Across Major Nations
Three of the G7 nations, including the UK and Germany, have not published updated biodiversity strategies ahead of COP16. Notably, the U.S., which is not a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), remains absent from the pledge process entirely. Among the 17 “megadiverse countries,” which collectively hold 70% of the world’s biodiversity, only five have submitted updated NBSAPs. Brazil, Colombia, and Peru—countries hosting the Amazon rainforest—are among those that have missed the deadline. Similarly, all six countries responsible for the Congo Basin, the world’s second-largest rainforest, failed to meet the submission timeline.
Technical Challenges and Delays
Countries cite various reasons for the delays. Technical difficulties, election cycles, and extensive consultations with stakeholders have slowed the submission process. Colombia, the host of COP16, pointed to a lengthy year-long consultation process involving local communities, while Brazil mentioned the complexity of consolidating proposals from a large federal system.
Biodiversity is declining faster than ever before, with one million species at risk of extinction. At COP15 in 2022, the world agreed on the GBF to combat this loss. However, while countries are legally obliged to submit climate targets (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, they are not mandated to file NBSAPs for biodiversity, leading to delays in implementation.
Implications for Global Biodiversity Efforts
The failure to meet the UN’s biodiversity pledge deadline could undermine global efforts to halt nature loss. Experts warn that the lack of prompt action on biodiversity mirrors the shortcomings that led to the failure of the Aichi Targets, agreed upon in 2010. The absence of updated NBSAPs raises concerns about the effective implementation of the GBF, making the COP16 summit critical for accelerating global action on biodiversity conservation.
As the world’s biodiversity crisis deepens, the need for timely and ambitious pledges has never been more urgent. Countries that have missed the deadline are expected to announce their plans during the summit, but the question remains whether these delayed actions will be enough to reverse the course of biodiversity loss.
Crystal Davis, global director for the Food, Land and Water Program at the World Resources Institute, said: “Nature is facing a crisis, largely driven by humanity’s use of the land and ocean … at Cop16, it’s time for all countries to step up and turn a landmark global agreement to protect and restore nature into action.”
“More NBSAPs would be better, that’s clear. We expect more to be announced at Cop16 – including some of the big ones like India, who want to have the ministerial announcement at Cop16 and give it a lot of profile,” UN biodiversity chief Astrid Schomaker added.
References:
https://www.cbd.int/conferences/2024
COP16: More than 85% of countries miss UN deadline to submit nature pledges
Banner Image: Screengrab from video on COP16 COLOMBIA on X
