Over the past two decades, the number of endangered species and the rate of ecosystem degradation have increased dramatically across all regions. While there have been many successful initiatives, issues of cost, replicability, and scalability have limited the capacity of existing methods to address current environmental challenges alone. Today, approximately 1 million plants and animal species are now at risk of extinction. With many negative biodiversity trends reaching unprecedented levels, and continuing to deteriorate at increasing rates, it is clear that current approaches are not sufficient. It is more urgent than ever that new solutions and technologies be explored, with the potential to prevent or reverse the loss of threatened habitats and species.

The adoption of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is a unique chance to reset our ambitions and shape future efforts, and to explicitly highlight the importance of science and innovation for conservation. New technologies that could make significant contributions for the success of the new Framework are already being developed worldwide. They include new ways of controlling invasive species, improving resiliency to climate change, and managing pathogens that threaten human and animal health.

This session will be an opportunity to discuss the importance of enabling a positive environment for research and innovation to ensure healthy and sustainable ecosystems for future generations. Speakers will explore how science can help deliver conservation solutions and help meet the goals of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, as well as how this can be reflected in, and enabled by, the Framework itself. This will help inform the ongoing negotiations under WG2020-3 (particularly on Targets 6, 17, 19, and 20, and Goal D), and ensure that the Framework is adequate to the scale of the challenges faced, and supportive of efforts to address them.”