As countries work to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, there is growing recognition that achieving lasting progress for both people and nature requires new ways of understanding development itself in the context of humanity’s relationship with Nature.  

Nature's protection and restoration is not just an environmental issue, but a vital accelerant of human well-being, resilience and sustainable development. But are we measuring it as such? From the recognition of biodiversity as Botswana’s “new diamonds" to the successes of sustainable cashmere production in driving over 5% of Mongolia's GDP and over half of the income of herding communities, Nature's protection and restoration is a positive, significant force behind the fastest moving slipstreams of sustainable development today. Yet conventional measures of development have often failed to capture the complex, reciprocal relationship between people and nature, limiting our ability to understand and measure the full value of nature, and strengthen pathways toward more sustainable futures. 

The forthcoming 2026 Human Development Report (UNDP's flagship report published to millions each year), explores this challenge by examining the relationship between people and nature as a defining dimension of human development in the twenty-first century. The report reveals that our relationship with nature influences not only environmental outcomes, but also health, resilience, prosperity, social cohesion and the choices societies make about development. 

At the heart of the report is the introduction of the Nature Relationship Index (NRI)—a new analytical framework and result of months of peer reviewed work - that seeks to understand how people experience, value and interact with nature, and how these relationships shape development outcomes. By bringing together evidence from across countries and disciplines, the report provides fresh insights into how stronger human-nature relationships can support more inclusive, resilient and sustainable development pathways. 

Just ahead of the report’s official launch in late 2026, CBD COP17 provides a timely opportunity to introduce its central ideas and engage governments, researchers and development practitioners in an exhilarating, optimistic discussion on the implications of this new Index for biodiversity policy and implementation of the KMGBF. 

THE SIDE EVENT 

UNDP will convene a pre-launch conversation at CBD COP17 offering participants an exclusive preview of the thinking behind the 2026 Human Development Report. Featuring members of the report's authoring team alongside invited government and experts, the event will explore how new ways of measuring and understanding humanity’s relationship with nature can help inform nature, biodiversity and ecosystem policy and decision-making for enduring, successful development outcomes. 

Rather than presenting the report in full, the event will provide an early look at its conceptual framework, introduce the Nature Relationship Index, and reveal a selection of emerging insights that illuminate the links between human development and biodiversity. It will also provide an opportunity for participants to engage directly with the report's authors ahead of its global launch. 

Specifically, this event will: 

DISCUSSION THEMES 

Discussions will focus on: 

FORMAT 

The in-person side event will consist of opening remarks, a fireside-style conversation with the authors of the 2026 Human Development Report, moderated reflections from invited government and expert respondents, and an interactive audience discussion. The event will provide one of the first public opportunities to engage with the report's emerging findings ahead of its official global launch in 2026, while sparking energizing dialogue on how its findings can inform biodiversity policy and practice.