Shaping the Future of Global Conservation at COP17
Audubon brings its hemispheric conservation leadership to the global stage, advancing practical solutions to protect biodiversity and turn international commitments into action.
This month, governments, civil society, Indigenous people, companies, and other organizations from around the world will gather in Yerevan, Armenia for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17). Audubon is bringing its conservation leadership to this global stage, leveraging our scientific expertise, on-the-ground experience, and partnerships to help advance the global efforts to conserve biodiversity.
COP17 comes at a critical moment for nature. We know that North America alone has lost 3 billion birds since 1970. Globally, BirdLife International’s State of the World’s Birds shows that 45% of migratory birds are in decline, and 11% of bird species are threatened with extinction. And new research by WWF suggests that wildlife populations globally declined an average of 73% between 1970 and 2022; this number rises to 95% in the Americas.
Recognizing this crisis, the world’s governments established the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and its 4 goals and 23 targets, in 2022. These targets provide a global roadmap for protecting and restoring nature by 2030. Six are particularly relevant to Audubon’s work across the Americas and the conservation solutions we are highlighting at COP17, from protecting critical habitat and restoring ecosystems to supporting Indigenous-led conservation and sustainable working lands. They include:
- Target 1: Plan and Manage all Areas to Reduce Biodiversity Loss
- Target 2: Restore 30% of all Degraded Ecosystems
- Target 3: Conserve 30% of Land, Water and Seas
- Target 4: Halt Species Extinction, Protect Genetic Diversity, and Manage Human-Wildlife Conflicts
- Target 8: Minimize the Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity and Build Resilience
- Target 10: Enhance Biodiversity and Sustainability in Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fisheries, and Forestry
At COP17, the world is coming together in a Global Review of progress on the GBF and its 2030 targets. The findings will underscore a critical challenge: the world is not on track to meet these goals and targets. Accelerated action is needed to protect and restore biodiversity, prosper with nature, share benefits fairly, and invest and collaborate in a way that supports nature.
Negotiations at COP17 will focus on accelerated implementation and include topics such as: biodiversity funding; better aligning efforts to meet biodiversity, climate, and land restoration goals; and establishing a new body on Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Outside the negotiations, a major focus will be on the Forests Roadmap, which contributes to accelerate global efforts by governments, companies, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society organizations to halt deforestation and forest degradation, while restoring ecosystems at scale.
Drawing on our work across the Americas, over the last six months Audubon has published a series of Policy Briefs outlining practical approaches to accelerate progress towards the target of conserving 30 percent of the world’s lands, inland waters, and seas by 2030, known as “30x30”.
Audubon on the Ground at COP17
At COP17, Audubon will advance these solutions through a series of events that showcase our conservation expertise and leadership and demonstrate how our work contributes to key GBF targets:
- Advancing Indigenous-led Conservation: Audubon is hosting an event focused on Indigenous-led conservation areas, highlighting the critical role these areas can play in achieving 30x30 goals (Target 3), managing areas to reduce biodiversity loss (Target 1), halting species extinction (Target 4), and minimizing the impacts of climate change on biodiversity (Target 8).
- Elevating Conservation on Working Lands: Audubon is leading a discussion examining how conservation on working lands supports sustainable agriculture and land management (Target 10), while also helping meet the 30x30 goal (Target 3) as “other effective area-based conservation measures.”
- Restoring Ecosystems at Scale: Audubon is leading a session exploring lessons learned from large-scale restoration in the Gulf following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and how these experiences can inform efforts to restore degraded lands (Target 2), plan and manage areas to reduce biodiversity loss (Target 1), and build climate resilience (Target 8).
- Scaling Conservation Across the Americas: Alongside our partners, Audubon will showcase Conserva Aves, a hemispheric initiative advancing locally led conservation across Latin America. By protecting critical habitats, strengthening ecological connectivity, and mobilizing resources for conservation, the initiative contributes to improved conservation planning (Target 1, the 30x30 goal (Target 3), species protection (Target 4), and climate resilience (Target 8), translating global commitments into tangible conservation action.
- Shaping Global Forests Conservation Efforts: Audubon is speaking on a panel focused on the Forests Roadmap, discussing how success in halting deforestation and forest degradation by 2030, along with restoring ecosystems, would make major contributions to all the targets listed above.
Coming out of COP17, Audubon will work to turn new decisions, pledges, programs and mechanisms into meaningful conservation action on the ground throughout the Americas. The urgency has never been greater. To halt biodiversity loss worldwide and strengthen our communities and economies, we must protect and restore the natural systems on which birds and people depend. Renewed commitment coming out of COP17 could be the turning point that renews global ambition, accelerates action, and builds momentum.
