The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) continued its meetings attended by Parties and observers during the summer of 2021. The Open-Ended Working Group on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF) reconvened 23 August to 3 September 2021 for its third meeting to advance work on the post-2020 GBF. Delegates met over four plenary sessions and across several contact groups to cover the framework’s goals and milestones, overall structure and sections A to E, and on topics on reducing threats for biodiversity (targets 1-8), nature’s contribution to people (targets 9-13), and tools and solutions (targets 14-21, sections H to K).
CBD Executive Secretary Elizabeth Maruma Mrema speaks at the opening plenary session of OEWG3, with co-chairs Francis Ogwal and Basile van Havre.
GEO BON submitted a written statement highlighting the importance of essential biodiversity variables to harmonize and standardize biodiversity data into indicators, as well as the role GEO BON can play to meet the demanding scientific and technical capacity required by countries to achieve the framework’s targets.
To aid Parties in achieving Goal A of the draft framework to enhance and increase the area and integrity of natural ecosystems, reduce the rate of species extinctions, and safeguard the genetic diversity of species, GEO BON contributed an information document on one of the goal’s headline indicators (CBD/WG2020/3/INF/6). This document describes the Species Habitat Index (SHI), its methodology, and current availability to Parties.
During the contact group 2 on reducing threats for biodiversity, GEO BON made a statement on Target 4. GEO BON suggested that this target, currently drafted as, ensure active management actions to enable the recovery and conservation of species and the genetic diversity of wild and domesticated species, including through ex situ conservation, and effectively manage human-wildlife interactions to avoid or reduce human-wildlife conflict, should include additional text to ensure that the genetic diversity of populations is protected, maintained, managed, and monitored, at levels ensuring adaptive potential. Similar wording was proposed by the South African delegation and non-Party group, United States of America.
The report of each contact group, which include Parties’ textual submissions and amendments on elements of the framework, can be found on the CBD’s OEWG3 webpage. The complete and updated version of the meeting report will be made available in due time.