Target 20 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) calls for strengthened capacity-building and development, while Target 21 focuses on the availability of the best available data, information and knowledge. The draft knowledge management strategy to support the implementation of the GBF and updated work programme for the CHM are likewise important components that will ensure that Parties and other relevant actors have the capacity, data, information and knowledge to successfully implement the Biodiversity Plan.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN, as the global authority on the state of the natural world and the world’s largest environmental network, has a diversity of knowledge tools and products, produced and managed by a vast number of global experts, that can inform action for GBF implementation. IUCN also invests into strengthening the capacities of those involved in conservation, across sectors.

This side event is directly relevant to COP agenda item 12. It will highlight how CBD Parties and other relevant actors can engage in ongoing and future activities of the Union in delivering on many of the strategic objectives of the draft GBF Knowledge Management Strategy, including the objectives relating to knowledge generation and synthesis, knowledge discovery and collection, as well as knowledge uptake and application.

It will also introduce a number of IUCN-led or supported knowledge and capacity-building tools and platforms, including the Contributions for Nature platform, PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet and the IUCN Academy, and highlight their relevance for GBF implementation, and how CBD Parties can benefit from them, including in NBSAP processes.

Uptake of these tools and platforms at national and regional level, and their further improvement, will be supported through IUCN’s role in leading several of the (sub-)regional TSC support centres, namely in Southern Asia, Western Asia and Southern Europe, and partnering with regional organisations for those in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Consequently, the side event will also introduce arrangements and partnerships for operationalizing these regional knowledge and collaboration hubs.

The event will include presentations from a range of speakers, including partners engaged in the tools and platforms. It will also feature the voices of stakeholders and users of IUCN knowledge from government level (CBD Parties), civil society and private sector. The audience will have the opportunity to engage in discussions, sharing experiences with IUCN tools and networks and bringing forward suggestions for further strengthening their uptake to ensure successful GBF implementation.