Audubon at CBD COP17 in Armenia

Birds connect countries, ecosystems, and communities across the world, giving Audubon a unique perspective on the global biodiversity challenge. Audubon will bring more than a century of science, conservation, and policy experience to the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia from October 19-30, 2026. COP17 is an important moment in the continued international conversation about how to turn global biodiversity commitments into action. COP17 will provide an opportunity for the global community to take stock on the global targets set out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including the global goal of conserving 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030, known as 30x30. It is also an opportunity to advance solutions that benefit birds and biodiversity while strengthening resilience for people and communities.

Across the Americas, Audubon and partners are putting science into practice where it can have the greatest impact—from Conserva Aves in Latin America and the Caribbean and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas in Canada to bird-friendly working lands with Audubon Conservation Ranching and large-scale restoration along the U.S. Gulf Coast. At COP17, Audubon experts and partners will highlight practical, science-based pathways for advancing 30x30 and other biodiversity goals across the Americas. Audubon will carry the ideas, partnership, and progress from the biodiversity conference forward into the global climate discussions at COP31, and to our work on the ground in ecosystems across the hemisphere.

Audubon at COP17

Join Audubon experts and partners in Yerevan for conversations about practical, science-based approaches to achieving global biodiversity goals.

Scaling Ecosystem Restoration to Meet Biodiversity and Climate Agendas: The United States Gulf Coast as a Living Laboratory

Wednesday, October 21 | 12:00–13:15

IUCN Pavilion (Blue Zone)

Sixteen years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the U.S. Gulf Coast has become one of the largest and most sustained ecosystem restoration efforts in the world, with more than USD$20 billion supporting restoration of habitats and wildlife across the U.S. Gulf Coast, throughout important habitats in the marine ecosystem, and internationally. This session will translate fifteen years of Gulf restoration experience across multiple sectors into a practical playbook for the post-2030 biodiversity and climate agenda: how to move from individual restoration projects to landscape-scale, durable, climate-adapted implementation to meet the challenge of rapidly changing conditions. 

Read Audubon’s 30x30 brief on Conservation in Marine & Coastal Areas

Conserva Aves – Advancing 30x30, Protecting Birds, Strengthening Communities

Thursday, October 22| 13:30–14:45

IUCN Pavilion (Blue Zone)

Join experts from across the Americas to explore how subnational protected areas can advance 30x30 goals. This event will highlight Conserva Aves, a hemispheric initiative supporting Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant communities, and local organizations in creating, expanding, and managing protected areas across Latin America. By 2030, the initiative aims to support at least 100 protected and conservated areas covering more than two million hectares of critical bird habitat.

Building on successes in nine countries, speakers will share lessons learned and highlight the initiatives next phase, including:

• Expansion to Brazil, Brining the Conserva Aves model to one of the world’s most biodiverse countries and supporting community-based conservation at scale
• New work in Chile, supporting a new cohort of protected areas
• Innovative financing models tailored to local circumstances

Inspired by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30x30 target, Conserva Aves demonstrates how locally led, evidence-based conservation can contribute to national and global biodiversity goals. 

Indigenous-Led Conservation: Advancing 30x30 with Innovative Finance, Traditional Knowledge, and Cutting-Edge Science

Thursday, October 22 | 16:30–17:45

IUCN Pavilion (Blue Zone)

Indigenous Peoples and governments have come together across the Americas to advance some of the most innovative conservation approaches to date. Hear how these unexpected partnerships in Canada and Bolivia are conserving globally significant ecosystems, drawing on both traditional knowledge and cutting-edge science, deploying skillful management practices, and drawing on innovative financing approaches to support long-term conservation, including 30x30 goals.

Read Audubon’s 30x30 policy brief on Indigenous-Led Protected Areas

Halting and Reversing Deforestation by 2030: Implementing the COP30 Presidency Roadmap (FSC Host)

October 23 | 9:30-10:30

Nature Positive Pavilion (Blue Zone)
This interactive session will bring together organizations, stakeholders, and rights holders supporting the Nature Positive Agenda to discuss how stronger collaboration and alignment across existing initiatives can accelerate implementation of the COP30 Presidency Roadmap to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. Participants will explore how political ambition, business commitments, and community leadership can be translated into coordinated action and tangible results. Convened by FSC International, the discussion aims to identify practical pathways for turning commitments into collective action and real-world impact.

Read Audubon’s submission on the Forests Roadmap

Working Lands as Conservation Lands: Credible Pathways to 30x30

Tuesday, October 27 | 16:30–17:45

IUCN Pavilion (Blue Zone)

Working lands can deliver biodiversity outcomes at a scale that protected areas alone cannot achieve. This session brings together ranching, government, and forestry leaders from across the Americas to examine how qualifying farms, ranches, and managed forests can contribute credibly to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Drawing on producer-centered grassland conservation in North and South America, Mexico's voluntary private and community conservation mechanisms, and Forest Stewardship Council certification, panelists will explore the standards, monitoring, outcomes, and incentives needed to sustain measurable conservation outcomes while supporting viable rural livelihoods. The discussion will distinguish protected-area mechanisms from other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) and identify practical lessons for national biodiversity strategies.

Read Audubon’s 30x30 policy brief on Conservation on Working Lands

Audubon experts from across the Americas will be in Yerevan for COP17, contributing expertise on global conservation policy, working lands, coastal resilience, and community-led conservation.

• Christine Dragisic – Managing Director, Global Policy

Panelist: Indigenous-Led Conservation: Advancing 30x30 with Innovative Finance, Traditional Knowledge, and Cutting-Edge Science; Conserva Aves – Advancing 30x30, Protecting Birds, Strengthening Communities; Halting and Reversing Deforestation by 2030: Implementing the COP30 Presidency Roadmap

Email Chris

• Bethany Kraft – Senior Director, Coastal and Marine Resilience

Panelist: Scaling Ecosystem Restoration to Meet Biodiversity and Climate Agendas: The United States Gulf Coast as a Living Laboratory

Email Bethany

• Nathaniel Miller – Senior Director, Wings Over Working Lands, North America

Panelist: Working Lands as Conservation Lands: Credible Pathways to 30x30

Email Nat

• Karime Lopez-Diaz – Communications Specialist, Conserva Aves

Email Karime

Media Inquiries

Jeff Billington – Director of Policy Communications

Jeff will be on the ground in Yerevan during COP17 and is available to coordinate media inquiries, interviews, and connections with Audubon experts.

Email Jeff