Across the globe, economies and people's well-being rely significantly on nature, making the two closely intertwined. This relationship is most visible through the impacts of economic activity on ecosystems. However, the dependencies of the economy on biodiversity and its associated ecosystem services, as well as the impact of the decline in nature on essential assets, are often overlooked. This oversight can lead to various risks to the global economy and welfare. Therefore, it is crucial for stakeholders involved in national planning and policy to acknowledge the importance of nature in developing a resilient, sustainable, inclusive, and just economy. 

In this regard, parties around the world are on the path to transforming their economies by acknowledging the importance of nature for well-being in their planning and economic processes. These countries are part of the Nature Transition Support Programme (NTSP) which provide research support to explore risks and align national economic planning with sustainable development targets for improving outcomes for nature and people. The NTSP explores the hidden social and economic costs of economic development paths which do not account for their impacts and dependencies on nature.  As well as identifying opportunities for building a roadmap of potential actions and policy options for countries to realise their sustainable development ambitions.

Agenda 

18:00 – 18:20 hrs.– Introductions, welcome remarks, and presentation on economic transformations for nature and people

18:20 – 19:00 hrs. – Country-led Panel Discussion on actions and challenges for acknowledging nature in development and macroeconomic planning

19:00 – 19:20 hrs. – Questions and Answers / Feedback and closing remarks

The side-event hosted at COP-16 will bring together key stakeholders from countries that are on a pathway towards positive economic transformation for nature and people.  This will include Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana which are currently part of the Nature Transition Support Programme (NTSP). The event will be co-hosted by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC, NTSP lead implementor), UNDP Nature for Development (NTSP partner), the Humboldt Institute (NTSP partner), the National Institute of Biodiversity of Ecuador (INABIO, NTSP partner) and the Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate (NTSP donor) and moderated by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (known in Spanish as CEPAL).  

The event will begin with a brief presentation on economic transformations by one of the hosting countries to introduce them to participants and make the case for similar work being implemented in other countries. The panel discussion will bring together the three countries from Africa and South America to present their diverse experiences towards a common goal – economic transformations for nature and people.  

The panel discussion will advocate for economic transformation as a means to achieve the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by exploring alternative sustainable development pathways and transitions. It will emphasize that each country has a unique trajectory for embedding the economy within nature and will share key lessons learned. These lessons can potentially be adapted and applied by other countries based on their local contexts. 

The event will conclude with a questions and answers session to allow participants to ask either the host countries or the implementing agencies questions to learn more about the programme and potentially replicating it in other countries.