Strategic review and analysis of the current programme of work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) in the context of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
In its decision 16/12, paragraph 4, the Conference of the Parties (COP), recalling paragraph 9 of decision 15/4, requested the Secretariat to conduct a strategic review and analysis of the Convention’s programmes of work in the context of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) to support its implementation.
The PoWPA (https://www.cbd.int/protected/pow) includes 16 targets and 126 specific actions, organized under four key interlinked elements:
- Site establishment, planning, and management;
- Governance, participation, equity, and benefit-sharing;
- Enabling policy, institutional, and capacity frameworks;
- Standards, assessment, and monitoring of protected area systems.
As such, it remains an important tool and is relevant for the implementation of the KMGBF.
Submissions of views (27 October to 15 December 2025)
Through notification 2025-135, issued 27 October 2025, parties, other governments, indigenous peoples and local communities, and relevant organizations were invited to submit views and information relating to the strategic review and analysis of the current programme of work on protected areas in the context of the Framework. The deadline for submissions is December 15 2025.
Submissions should be send through an official letter addressed to the Executive Secretary, by e-mail to secretariat@cbd.int, or through the Clearing-House Mechanism using the following link: https://chm.cbd.int/submit/submission/new?notification=2025-135 .
Guiding questions
In preparing the submission, Parties and observers may wish to consider the following guiding questions along with the text of the program of work on protected areas and the rapid gap analysis as contained in document CBD/SBSTTA/25/INF/1:
- What aspects should be incorporated or reinforced in the current review of the Programme of Work to improve alignment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework? Please consult the rapid gap analysis in document CBD/SBSTTA/25/INF/1 for reference.
- How could the approach to implementing the Programme of Work be revised to better contribute to achieving Target 3 of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework? In your response, consider potential actors and timeframes.
- Which goals, targets, or activities of the Programme of Work should be prioritized to support national implementation of the Framework by 2030?
Background
The Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted in February 2004 (Decision VII/28, Annex) during the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-7) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The decision recognized the essential role of protected areas in conserving biodiversity and maintaining ecological integrity, aiming to establish comprehensive, effectively managed, and ecologically representative national and regional systems of protected areas by 2010 for terrestrial areas and by 2012 for marine areas.
PoWPA emphasizes:
- Maintaining ecological integrity in protected areas to ensure ecosystems function naturally and sustain biodiversity;
- Integrating protected areas into broader landscapes and seascapes to support ecological processes;
- Strengthening governance, participation, and equity, including recognition of Indigenous and local community contributions;
- Providing ecosystem services and cultural values associated with protected areas;
- Building capacity and mobilizing financial resources for effective management.
The Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) has not been formally updated since its adoption in 2004, but its implementation has been reviewed through several COP decisions:
- COP-8 (2006, Curitiba, Brazil), Decision VIII/24, invited Parties to report on national progress in implementing PoWPA and encouraged regional and subregional workshops to strengthen capacity and support coordinated action.
- COP-9 (2008, Bonn), Decision IX/18, called for strengthened and diversified governance of protected areas and noted the role of Indigenous peoples, local communities, private actors, and community-conserved areas in national networks.
- COP-10 (2010, Nagoya, Japan), Decision X/31, adopted the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, including Target 11 which set quantitative and qualitative goals for protected-area coverage, ecological representativity, connectivity, and effective management by 2020, stating that: “By 2020, at least 17% of terrestrial and inland water, and 10% of coastal and marine areas, are conserved through effectively managed, ecologically representative, and well-connected systems of protected areas.”
Since the adoption of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity (2011-2020), Parties have not undertaken a formal update of the PoWPA. Area-based conservation policy evolved primarily through Aichi Target 11 implementation processes, guidance, and subsequent COP decisions . The Powpa core principles and elements have gradually entered broader CBD decisions and implementation processes, culminating in their integration into the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
- COP-14 (2018, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt), decision 14/8, defined “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECMs) as areas outside protected areas that deliver sustained in situ biodiversity conservation outcomes. The decision requested Parties to identify, recognize, support, and report OECMs.
- COP-15 (2022, Montreal) adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Target 3 (or the 30x30) commits Parties to conserve at least 30 percent of terrestrial, inland water, coastal, and marine areas by 2030 through ecologically representative, well-connected, and equitably governed systems of protected areas and OECMs, including Indigenous and traditional territories where appropriate.
Resources
All decisions on protected areas : https://www.cbd.int/protected/decisions
