Decision COP 15/4

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling its decision 14/34, in which it adopted the preparatory process for the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and decided to establish an openended intersessional working group to support its preparation,

Noting the outcomes of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, of the regional and thematic consultations and workshops conducted based on decision 14/34 and of the intersessional work conducted on digital sequence information on genetic resources,

Noting also the outcomes of the eleventh meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions, of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth meetings of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and of the third meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation,

Expressing its gratitude to the following Governments and organizations for hosting these consultations, as well as for their financial contributions: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czechia, Kenya, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Uruguay, as well as the African Union, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme and Tourism Montreal

Expressing its gratitude to the Co-Chairs of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, Mr. Basile van Havre (Canada) and Mr. Francis Ogwal (Uganda), for supporting the development of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,

Welcoming the submissions by Parties, other Governments, indigenous peoples and local communities, United Nations organizations and programmes, other multilateral environmental agreements, subnational governments, cities and other local authorities, intergovernmental organizations, nongovernmental organizations, women’s groups, youth groups, the business and finance community, the scientific community, academia, faith-based organizations, representatives of sectors related to or dependent on biodiversity, citizens at large, and other stakeholders and observers providing views on the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework,

Alarmed by the continued loss of biodiversity and the threat that this poses to nature and human well-being,

Emphasizing therefore the need for a balanced and enhanced implementation of all provisions of the Convention, including its three objectives,

1. Adopts the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, as contained in the annex to the present decision;

2. Notes that the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will be supported by the following decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its fifteenth meeting and affirms that these decisions are of equal standing to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;

3. Also notes that the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will be supported by relevant decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocols, in particular the Implementation Plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Capacity-building Action Plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; 

4. Urges Parties and other Governments, with the support of intergovernmental and other organizations, as appropriate, to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and, in particular, to enable participation at all levels of government, with a view to fostering the full and effective contributions of women, youth, indigenous peoples and local communities, civil society organizations, the private and financial sectors, and stakeholders from all other sectors, to that end;

5. Invites Parties and other Governments to cooperate at the transboundary, regional and international levels in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;

6. Reaffirms its expectation that Parties and other Governments will ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities are respected and given effect to in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;

7. Invites the General Assembly of the United Nations to acknowledge the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and to take into account the progress in its implementation when monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals;

9. Requests the Executive Secretary to conduct a strategic review and analysis of the programmes of work of the Convention in the context of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to facilitate its implementation, and, on the basis of this analysis, to prepare draft updates of these programmes of work for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and by the Subsidiary Body on Implementation, as appropriate, at meetings during the period between the fifteenth and sixteenth meetings of the Conference of the Parties, and to report on this work to the Conference of the Parties at its sixteenth meeting.