Partners / Presenters

The event will be jointly organized by the Humboldt Institute, in its role as a CBD Subregional Technical and Scientific Support Centre (TSCC) for Latin America, the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB), CONABIO, and the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership. The session will bring together representatives from Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia to engage in a dynamic dialogue on the priorities, gaps, and scientific-technical needs identified through national reporting processes. By reflecting on countries’ experiences in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), participants will explore common challenges, emerging opportunities, and priority areas for regional collaboration, capacity development, and technical support.

Objective 

This side-event aims to bring together representatives of Parties from Latin America and the Caribbean, regional organizations, and technical partners to reflect on the main findings emerging from the Seventh National Reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), identifying common challenges, priorities, and capacity needs for the effective implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).

The session will provide a space for regional dialogue on the scientific, technical, and institutional gaps highlighted through national reporting processes, while exploring opportunities for strengthened regional cooperation and the role that Subregional Technical and Scientific Cooperation Support Centres can play in supporting Parties in areas such as monitoring, indicators, data management, reporting, and implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs).

Description

Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, hosting an extraordinary wealth of ecosystems, species, and cultural diversity. At the same time, the region faces significant and accelerating pressures on biodiversity, including land-use change, deforestation, pollution, climate change, overexploitation of natural resources, and increasing socio-environmental vulnerabilities. Despite important national efforts, many countries continue to face common structural challenges that require strengthened regional cooperation and coordinated responses.

The preparation of the Seventh National Reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity has provided an important opportunity for Parties to assess progress, identify persistent barriers, and reflect on national priorities for implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). While the reports reveal important advances across the region — including strengthened policy frameworks, restoration initiatives, improved monitoring efforts, and greater integration of biodiversity into national agendas — they also highlight shared challenges that continue to limit implementation capacity.

Among the most recurrent challenges identified by Parties through the Seventh National Reports are persistent gaps in biodiversity monitoring and information management systems, including limited interoperability among institutions, lack of standardized methodologies, and insufficient capacities to assess the effectiveness and biological impacts of conservation actions. In addition, many countries face technical and methodological challenges in implementing the headline indicators of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly regarding ecosystem integrity, genetic diversity, ecosystem services valuation, and the availability of nationalized datasets and methodologies. The reports further reveal important shortcomings in the prevention, early detection, and rapid response to invasive alien species, as well as difficulties in effectively mainstreaming biodiversity across productive sectors and territorial planning processes. Recurrent institutional and governance challenges were also identified, including high turnover of technical staff and limited coordination between national and subnational authorities. Finally, Parties consistently highlighted significant financial constraints, characterized by persistent funding gaps, strong dependence on short-term external financing, and limited tracking and mobilization of private-sector contributions to biodiversity.

The CBD Technical and Scientific Cooperation (TSC) mechanism, including the role of Subregional Support Centres, represents an important opportunity to facilitate collaboration, capacity-building, technical assistance, and the sharing of experiences, methodologies, and tools across the region. Subregional centres can play a key role in strengthening technical capacities, fostering regional networks, supporting national reporting and monitoring processes, and enhancing cooperation among Parties and partner organizations.

This side-event will create a space for Parties to discuss the key regional trends emerging from the Seventh National Reports, exchange experiences on implementation challenges and successful approaches, and identify priority scientific and technical needs that could be addressed through regional and subregional cooperation mechanisms. The discussion will also explore how Subregional Support Centres and partner organizations can better respond to the evolving needs of Parties in the region and contribute to strengthening science-policy interfaces, technical capacities, and collaborative implementation efforts toward the goals and targets of the KMGBF.

Expected Outcomes

Understand Seventh National Reports insights for particular countries in Latin America

Identification of shared regional priorities.

Potential regional technical partnerships and collaboration opportunities.

Increased visibility of the Subregional Support Centre as a mechanism for technical and scientific support

 

Methodology

The side event will follow a structured four-part agenda designed to foster regional insight and collaborative dialogue. It will open with a 10-minute introduction by the hosting institutions. This will be followed by a 10-minute presentation by the Humboldt Subregional Centre focused on emerging regional trends, priorities, and gaps identified in the 7th National Reports. Next, a 35-minute block will feature specific national case studies from Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, providing context for the core of the event: a 30-minute interactive dialogue. During this group discussion, representatives from the participating countries  and partners will address key questions regarding technical and scientific needs for KMGBF implementation, TSCC support. The event will conclude with a 5-minute wrap-up to synthesize the main insights and action points.