With protected areas falling short of global conservation goals, negotiators must resolve funding disputes, reform nature-damaging incentives and accelerate implementation before the conference closes.
Fresh funding pledges raise expectations as 140 ministers and deputy ministers gather for the final stretch of talks, with governments under pressure to turn commitments into action before Friday’s deadline.
Governments at the UN biodiversity conference COP17 face difficult negotiations over who should finance nature protection and how to reduce harmful subsidies, as ministers gather in Yerevan ahead of the talks’ scheduled close on Friday.
Fresh biodiversity funding pledges worth hundreds of millions of dollars were announced on Monday, alongside a drive to reform subsidies harmful to nature, adding momentum to negotiations over implementing global commitments.
The October 27-28 High-Level Segment is expected to bring together approximately 1,500 participants, including 140 ministers and deputy ministers of finance and environment, according to a conference press release.
Their task is to address barriers to implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. COP17 opened in the Armenian capital on October 19.
Funding commitments face delivery test
COP17 President and Armenian Environment Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan said the conference was enabling more than $1.8 billion in total mobilisation from governments, philanthropic organisations and investors in support of biodiversity action.
The release did not provide a breakdown distinguishing new pledges, investment commitments and funds already disbursed or clarify how Monday’s announcements related to the total.
“The first week has shown that cooperation can deliver progress. The second week must demonstrate that political commitment can deliver action,” Matevosyan said.
Governments remain divided over who should contribute to international biodiversity finance, how much should be mobilised and which mechanisms should channel the resources.
The participation of finance ministers has brought greater attention to the economic decisions shaping biodiversity loss.
“Nature is not a luxury we protect when economies can afford it. Nature is what makes economies possible. The arrival of finance ministers at COP17 sends an important signal,” said Inger Andersen, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme.
“Biodiversity loss is not simply an environmental problem. It is an economic problem, and the solutions must reach into the heart of economic decision-making.”
Harmful subsidies divide negotiators
Parties also remain divided over language on reducing or phasing out incentives harmful to biodiversity, including agricultural subsidies.
Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, highlighted the imbalance between financial flows damaging nature and spending on its restoration.
“Financing the destruction of nature with 30 dollars against every dollar spent restoring it is like paying 30 people to tear down your house for every one hired to rebuild it,” she said.
Schomaker identified accountability, alignment and acceleration as priorities: using evidence to identify shortcomings, ensuring budgets and investment support biodiversity objectives and moving faster to implement the framework’s 23 targets.
Delegates will consider evidence from the State of Biodiversity Action report as part of the global review. Launched by UN Secretary-General António Guterres ahead of COP17, the report found widespread national commitment but substantial gaps in ambition and delivery.
‘30 by 30’ remains a distant goal
The implementation challenge is evident in Target 3, known as “30 by 30”, which calls for conserving at least 30% of terrestrial and inland water areas and marine and coastal areas by 2030.
Protected Planet’s October 2026 statistics show that protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures together cover 18.69% of the world’s land and inland waters and 10.04% of marine areas, well short of the target. These figures measure recorded coverage rather than demonstrating that every area is effectively managed.
The target also requires effective conservation and equitable governance. CBD guidance recognises the contribution of Indigenous and traditional territories, while stressing that decisions affecting them must respect community rights and obtain free, prior and informed consent.
Cities and regions seek stronger support
Local and regional leaders are calling for financial and technical support to turn global commitments into practical improvements.
Speaking at the ninth Summit for Subnational Governments and Cities in Yerevan on October 24, Costas Bakoyannis, chair of the European Committee of the Regions’ Commission for the Environment, Climate Change and Energy, stressed the role of local authorities.
“Cities and regions are not simply stakeholders in biodiversity policy. They are indispensable actors in its delivery,” he said.
Bakoyannis called for closer coordination between biodiversity conservation, climate action, water resilience, land restoration and sustainable development, saying success would be measured through healthier ecosystems and more resilient communities.
According to the European Committee of the Regions, the institution has been invited for the first time to participate in COP17’s High-Level Segment.
Outstanding decisions await Friday
Other unresolved issues include which commercial users of digital sequence information, or genetic sequence data, should contribute to the Cali Fund, established to share benefits arising from its use.
Negotiations also continue on arrangements for the new permanent body on Indigenous Peoples and local communities under Article 8(j) and on links between biodiversity action and climate commitments.
The opening week delivered 14 decisions: four under the biodiversity convention covering invasive alien species, gender, education and knowledge management; eight under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; and two under the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing.
The conference is scheduled to close on October 30 with the adoption of outstanding decisions, including elements of the proposed Yerevan Pathway to accelerate implementation of the global biodiversity framework through 2030.
