Context

Mountain “Water Towers” - mountains and freshwater biodiversity- are strategic natural infrastructure. They regulate downstream water supply, sustain rivers, wetlands and lakes, reduce flood, drought, erosion and landslide risks, provide critical ecosystems of biodiversity, support pastoral and agricultural livelihoods, and hold cultural and ecological values for communities living in mountain as well as downstream areas . Yet they remain highly vulnerable to climate change, environmental degradation and hazards, while being poorly integrated into the systems that shape nature conservation, climate adaptation, infrastructure planning, protected-area design, water management and public and private finance.

Addressing vulnerabilities of mountain and water ecosystems is becoming increasingly urgent. Glaciers are retreating at an unprecedented rate, permafrost is declining, precipitation and snow cycles are changing, high-altitude wetlands and grasslands are under pressure, and new post-glacial rivers, lakes and terrestrial habitats are emerging creating huge disaster risk and challenges for adjacent communities and ecosystems. These changes are altering the ecological and hydrological foundations on which downstream communities, cities, agriculture, energy systems and biodiversity depend.

Regardless of this challenges Mountain and freshwater ecosystems are usually managed through fragmented mandates: environment ministries focus on protected areas, water agencies on allocation, agriculture ministries on production, disaster authorities on risk, and finance ministries on infrastructure.

The CBD COP17, provides an opportunity to position mountain freshwater biodiversity as a practical implementation pathway for the KMGBF, which will be done through a COP17 Presidency Flagship initiative on a Yerevan Platform on Mountain and Freshwater Biodiversity.

Building on existing global frameworks and mechanisms to protect and restore mountain and freshwater ecosystems, such as the UN Dialogues on Mountains and Climate Change, the Freshwater Challenge, the UN Decade of Action on Cryospheric Sciences, the Action Platform on Source-to-Sea, the Mountain Partnership, the Group of Friends of Mountain Countries, and the Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions (2023-2027), the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, UNDP BIOFIN, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Adaptation at Altitude/Mountains Connect, and GEF integrated programme, this dialogue aims to bring policy coherence, mountain ecosystem-specific dialogues and dedicated capacity building activities within the common agenda that are currently scattered across different portfolios.

COP17 Presidency official event

Together with great mountainous regions of the world - the Caucasus, the Andes, the Alps, the Himalayas, African mountainous regions, the Rocky Mountains – and in cooperation with the partners such as the UNEP, UNDP, Mountain Partnership, Freshwater Challenge, among many others the COP17 Presidency of Armenia will hold a High-Level Dialogue on Mountain and Freshwater Ecosystems to accelerate the ecosystem-based implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) with respect to mountain and freshwater biodiversity.

The dialogue is aimed to promote and exchange on ongoing policy implementation, capacity-building, and innovation approaches and needs for financing conservation, restoration and sustainable development in mountain and freshwater landscapes. It will help identify entry points for strengthening national policies, improving access to technical support, and connecting countries with relevant partners, institutions and implementation pathways.

During the High-Level Dialogue the COP17 Presidency of Armenia together with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and with relevant institutional partners and champion countries will officially launch the COP17 Presidency flagship initiative on Yerevan Platform on Mountain and Freshwater Biodiversity.

 

Objectives

• Officially launch the Yerevan Platform as a sustained process within relevant CBD processes on Mountain and Freshwater Biodiversity during the High-Level Segment of CBD COP17 through a high-profile and impactful event, as a flagship initiative of the Presidency for COP17
• Facilitate a high-level exchange among stakeholders from diverse regions, including representatives of governments, IGOs, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, women, youth and other stakeholders on the importance of mountain and freshwater biodiversity within the framework of the CBD and KMGBF implementation. More specifically, it will aim to:

• Promote the multiple benefits - and socio-economic opportunities - of mountain and freshwater biodiversity conservation and restoration for water regulation, disaster-risk reduction, climate adaptation, livelihoods and biodiversity values, thereby supporting targets 2, 3 but also 8 and 11
• Highlight the opportunity to integrate mountain and freshwater biodiversity management into long-term policy planning - the policy coherence agenda -  including NBSAPs, NDCs, but also National Adaptation Plans, basin planning, protected-areas systems, infrastructure planning, disaster-risk strategies, in line with targets 1 and 14
• Make the business case for mobilizing finance for mountain and associated freshwater biodiversity conservation, capacity building, restoration and stewardship, including through the GEF, GCF, bilateral finance and responsible private-sector water stewardship.

●        Reflect the discussions, outcomes and key messages emerging from the Mountain Ecosystem Day (26 October) held in the GBF Pavilion

 

Expected outcomes

The outcomes of the high-level dialogue are to:

●        Launch the Yerevan Platform as a sustained dialogue and capacity building activity on mountain and freshwater biodiversity

●        Elevate political commitment to mountain and freshwater biodiversity

●        Advance policy coherence across biodiversity, climate, water and development agendas.

●        Strengthen the case for finance and investment in mountain and freshwater biodiversity.