In order to adapt to the impacts of climate change, most countries in the region have developed National Adaptation Plans and Strategies and are now gearing up to implement them. ‘UAE-Belem work programme’ convened by UNFCCC is working on refining and developing indicators for measuring progress towards the Global Goal on adaptation in eight domains – water, food, health, ecosystems, infrastructure and human settlements, poverty and livelihoods, cultural heritage, and policy cycle.
Following a challenging session at the sixteenth meeting of the CBD COP 16 from 21 October to 1 November 2024 in Cali, Colombia, the next chapter of international biodiversity talks unfolds this year from 25 to 27 February 2025 in Rome, Italy, as the COP 16 session resumes. Here we explore the critical issues on the agenda, the progress made, the ambitious goals set to protect our planet’s diverse ecosystems, and reflect on mountain issues from past negotiations and priorities for the future.
Last year, some of the COP 16 agenda items were suspended due to lack of quorum and will reconvene this year at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome. Delegates will focus on resolving key issues left unresolved from the negotiations in Cali last year. These include resource mobilisation, monitoring framework, and accountability for monitoring and reporting.
Hopes were high at COP16. It was the first CBD COP since the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) was adopted at Montreal in 2022, which the UN Secretary General described as a chance to “reset relations with Earth”. Key expectations from COP 16 included a stocktake of progress in implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), focusing on alignment with National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), and resource mobilisation to meet the targets set for 2030. While there was consensus on many issues, such as a benefit-sharing mechanism for genetic resources and a permanent body for Indigenous peoples, the conference ended without achieving consensus on other critical issues, including the creation of a new funding instrument and the finalisation of a new framework for monitoring countries’ progress on tackling biodiversity loss.
Biodiversity challenges in the Hindu Kush Himalaya
The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region is home to a host of unique and diverse flora and fauna. This rich biodiversity plays a significant role in the livelihoods and economies of mountain and downstream communities, who depend on natural resources. In the last century, the HKH region lost 70% of its biodiversity to various drivers including climate change, habitat loss due to land use changes, and pollution. Positioning mountain biodiversity agenda in global Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), such as the CBD COP process, ensures that biodiversity conservation in mountain areas is included, prioritised, and reflected in global conservation actions. These MEAs inform and influence parties’ biodiversity conservation plans as well as international conservation organisations and donors’ conservation action priorities. The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAPs) is a notable example of MEA.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) collaborates with its Regional Member Countries (RMCs) – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – in addressing biodiversity challenges in the mountain areas. As an observer to CBD COP, ICIMOD’s participation ensures recognition of mountain biodiversity and its vulnerability to climate change in global discussions, and advocates for increased investment and actions at all levels of governance.
Reflections on COP16 from the HKH
From the HKH perspective, COP16 was a ‘mixed bag’. Five staff members of ICIMOD participated and contributed to the negotiation process, and raised mountain- and HKH-specific issues in various discussions and decision-making processes. Due to our collaborative efforts with our RMCs, several countries including Bhutan, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan highlighted ‘mountains’ in their statements ensuring prominence of the mountain agenda in relevant COP decisions.
We highlighted issues from our region at over 20 events and worked with other organisations to present a united voice on mountain issues. We participated in over 25 bilateral meetings to discuss funding opportunities, build and strengthen networks, and promote the HKH-specific agenda. We also showcased our work on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) through a video on Community Conserved Areas in Nagaland, India. The CBD Secretariat and the French Development Agency expressed keen interest in supporting ICIMOD’s work on OECMs in the HKH region.
Progress on NBSAPs and national targets in the HKH
Overall, 119 countries, representing 61% of parties to the convention, submitted national biodiversity targets, and 44 countries have submitted NBSAPs. Only three HKH countries (Afghanistan, China, and India) submitted their NBSAPs. Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal submitted their national targets in line with KMGBF, and they plan to submit their NBSAPs by COP17 in 2026.
Many HKH countries are facing challenges in developing and updating their NBSAPs, often due to a lack of capacity. Other challenges include limited funding resources, and a time-consuming multi-stakeholder process, including coordinating diverse actors to align on priorities, policies, and actions. NBSAP preparation also requires substantial financial resources and efficient expenditure. Several countries in the HKH are facing challenges in securing funding and spending on time for planning and execution of NBSAPs.
Hopes for Rome and future actions
On resource mobilisation, through our RMCs, we will join parties in highlighting the financing gaps in the implementation of the NBSAP and advocating for the development of the global Resource Mobilisation Strategy aimed at securing USD 200 billion annually by 2030. ICIMOD advocates for the adoption of the Resource Mobilisation Strategy by the HKH countries, and for donors to commit and contribute funding for speedy and effective implementation of the GBF.
We will also look into contributing to the COP CBD agenda on Planning, Monitoring, Reporting and Review (PMRR) mechanism, particularly highlighting the issues related to limited capacity for data collection, management, access to datasets, and reporting. ICIMOD’s suggestions for the Parties include simplifying the monitoring framework and building the capacity of HKH Parties on reporting progress of the framework’s implementation.
The mountain agenda
There are three items in the resumed sessions agenda that are of critical importance for the HKH region: highlighting mountain-specific indicators in the targets, the development of a new Resource Mobilisation Strategy for the GBF Fund, and the PMRR mechanism.
Building on the outcomes of Cali and continuing talks in the resumed sessions in Rome, ICIMOD will support its RMCs in advocating the inclusion of the Green Cover Index for Mountains (GCIM) as a major indicator in the KMGBF. GCIM measures changes of the green vegetation in mountain areas – i.e. forests, shrubs, trees, pastureland, cropland, etc. – to provide indications on the status of conservation of their environment. Despite its importance, mountain biodiversity remains underrepresented in the KMGBF. Inclusion of these indicators in the KMGBF will ensure that relevant countries will reflect, act upon and measure impacts of biodiversity conservation in mountain ecosystems in their NBSAPs.
We will also work on therevival of theProgramme of Work on Mountain Biodiversity (PoWMB), which traces its roots to COP 7 in 2004 in Malaysia, where Parties adopted decision VII/27. This encouraged parties to implement PoWMB considering the ecosystem approach to reduce the rate of mountain biodiversity loss by 2010, contribute to poverty reduction, and benefit Indigenous peoples and local communities dependent on mountains. However, PoWMB has been dormant over the last decade, even as we see accelerated loss of mountain biodiversity. Together with RMCs and like-minded mountain countries, we will continue the discussion on the planned revision of PoWMB, picking up from the discussions during the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBBSTA 60) at COP 16 resumed session.
As biodiversity faces unprecedented threats, the decisions made at the resumed CBD COP 16 will chart the course for the future of our planet. With mountains’ unique ecosystems at risk, the call for action has never been louder.