Embracing global biodiversity toward a better planet

Abstract

Global biodiversity is the most essential component of the planet, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) has been unanimously adopted by 196 parties worldwide in 2022 to achieve the global vision of a world of living in harmony with nature by 2050. Of particular importance is the timely update of the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and/or National Targets aligned with the GBF before the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Upon comprehensive evaluation of updated NBSAPs of 47 parties and updated national targets of 126 parties, we proposed pathways that could better inform the updating processes. First, the essential elements of the goals and targets of the GBF applicable to national circumstances should be equivalently translated into national policies and instruments. Second, when specific national circumstances do not match with those essential elements, parties need to determine their own national biodiversity targets based on their situation but in a way that maintains and reflects the ambition of the GBF. Furthermore, the key factors that promote the success of biodiversity conservation are highlighted in terms of the target alignment with the GBF, the ownership enhancement, and the capacity building. We anticipate that these measures could facilitate immediate actions to update the NBSAPs to align with the GBF at the highest level while remaining cost-effectiveness.