As countries review progress towards the 2030 biodiversity targets, experts highlight Bangladesh’s funding shortages, institutional gaps and the need for inclusive, community-led conservation.
Eight-member delegation to attend COP17 in Armenia; experts urge stronger institutions, increased conservation finance and greater participation of women, youth and local communities.
Bangladesh will send an eight-member government delegation to the United Nations biodiversity summit in Armenia, as experts warn that inadequate financing, weak institutional capacity and limited community participation could undermine the country’s efforts to halt biodiversity loss by 2030.
The government has approved the delegation for the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), scheduled to take place in Yerevan from October 19 to 30.
According to an official order issued on Sunday, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo will lead the delegation on October 27-28. Acting Environment Secretary Dr Fahmida Khanom will serve as alternate head of delegation from October 26 to 30.
The other delegation members are Department of Environment (DoE) Director General Dr Md Lutfor Rahman, Deputy Secretary Md Amirul Kyser, Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests Md Jahidul Kabir, DoE Director Md Hasan Hasibur Rahman, Deputy Director Zawata Afnan and Assistant Director Md Shariful Haque.
Under the theme “Taking Action for Nature”, COP17 will conduct the first global review of collective progress in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). Adopted in 2022, the framework aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
Its global targets include conserving at least 30 percent of terrestrial and inland water areas and coastal and marine areas, and restoring at least 30 percent of degraded ecosystems by 2030. The framework also seeks to prevent human-induced species extinction, curb invasive alien species and reduce pollution to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity.
Negotiations will focus on biodiversity finance, implementation support, digital sequence information, access and benefit-sharing, and progress towards global conservation targets.
 Biodiversity finance remains a major challenge
Bangladesh is home to the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, alongside vast haor wetlands, extensive river systems and ecologically important coastal and marine habitats. These ecosystems face mounting pressure from pollution, encroachment, unsustainable resource extraction and climate change.
Dr Md Golam Rabbani, director of the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER) at BRAC University, said biodiversity conservation attracts significantly fewer dedicated funding opportunities than climate action.
He said Bangladesh could mobilise additional resources through the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and programmes supported by UNDP, UNEP and FAO.
However, identifying environmental problems alone would not attract international funding. Securing support requires well-designed conservation projects backed by credible implementation plans, institutional capacity and measurable outcomes, he said.
Bangladesh’s national biodiversity target envisages conserving at least 6 percent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas by 2030, according to the CBD’s national targets database.
The Kunming-Montreal framework, meanwhile, calls for effective conservation and management of at least 30 percent of the world’s terrestrial and inland water areas and coastal and marine areas by 2030. The benchmark is a global target rather than a uniform requirement for every country.
Experts caution that expanding protected areas without effective management, enforcement and community participation would deliver limited ecological benefits.
 Institutional weaknesses threaten conservation targets
Beyond financing, experts warn that institutional weaknesses, inadequate monitoring and poor coordination could undermine Bangladesh’s ability to implement its biodiversity commitments.
SM Munjurul Hannan Khan, executive director of Nature Conservation Management (NACOM), said Bangladesh possesses biodiversity resources of global importance but has struggled to mobilise international conservation finance at the scale required.
He stressed the need for adequate resources to implement the country’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).
Khan explained that COP17 would not directly allocate funding to individual countries. Instead, negotiations would shape international financing arrangements, resource mobilisation and implementation support mechanisms.
He expressed hope that the conference would strengthen financial and technical assistance for developing countries.
Department of Environment Director General Dr Md Lutfor Rahman said biodiversity conservation extends beyond protecting individual species.
“It is directly linked to ecosystems, the economy, local livelihoods and people’s participation,” he said.
Drawing on lessons from the previous biodiversity action plan, he identified persistent weaknesses in financing, monitoring, data management, law enforcement and community engagement. He emphasised the need for stronger implementation, regular monitoring and institutional coordination to achieve national conservation targets.
Bangladesh’s updated biodiversity action plan identifies 23 national targets and 107 activities covering ecosystem restoration, protected areas, species recovery, invasive alien species, pollution reduction, climate resilience and sustainable management of agriculture, fisheries and forests.
The plan also addresses ecosystem services, urban biodiversity, equitable benefit-sharing, sustainable production and consumption, financing, data management, capacity-building, gender equality and public participation.
Stronger biodiversity monitoring, inter-agency coordination and accountability in conservation spending will be essential to implementing these commitments.
 Women, youth and communities at the centre
Environmental advocates are calling for women, young people, Indigenous peoples and local communities to play a central role in conservation planning and decision-making.
Farida Akhter, founding executive director of UBINIG and former adviser to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, stressed that women have long safeguarded seeds, forests, rivers and the traditional knowledge that sustains biodiversity.
She said conservation efforts would succeed only when women’s leadership is recognised, adequately supported and meaningfully represented in decision-making.
Sohanur Rahman, executive coordinator of YouthNet Global, urged Bangladesh to integrate gender equality, youth leadership and meaningful community participation into national biodiversity policies.
He said biodiversity governance must address unequal power relations that determine who controls natural resources, whose knowledge is recognised and who benefits from conservation investments.
Rahman highlighted YouthNet Global’s EcoMen initiative, which engages men and boys in challenging harmful gender norms and supporting women’s leadership. He argued that more equitable power relations could strengthen community participation in biodiversity governance.
He also highlighted nature-based solutions, including mangrove restoration and wetland rehabilitation, as opportunities to protect biodiversity, strengthen climate resilience and support local livelihoods.
However, he warned against carbon-offsetting schemes, monoculture plantations and land grabbing that could undermine ecological integrity and community rights. Such approaches must complement, rather than delay, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he said.
These priorities align with Targets 22 and 23 of the Kunming-Montreal framework, which promote inclusive participation, access to information and justice, gender equality and women’s leadership in biodiversity action.
Community-led conservation and urban ecosystems
Conservation advocates say protecting the Sundarbans requires greater recognition of the rights, traditional knowledge and livelihood security of forest-dependent communities.
For people living around the Sundarbans, forests, fisheries and wetlands provide income, food security and cultural identity.
Conservation measures that exclude local communities from decision-making risk creating conflicts between environmental protection and livelihood needs.
Advocates argue that effective conservation requires equitable access to benefits, recognition of traditional ecological knowledge and meaningful opportunities for communities to influence natural resource management.
Mohammad Muzaffar Faisal, awareness and campaign officer at the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), stressed the importance of public awareness, access to biodiversity information and opportunities for communities to influence environmental decisions.
Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA), grounded in Article 13 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, provides an important foundation for translating biodiversity knowledge into public understanding and practical conservation action.
Target 21 of the Kunming-Montreal framework also emphasises access to biodiversity information and knowledge, including the traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples and local communities, subject to appropriate safeguards.
Scientific research and community knowledge should complement each other in conservation planning, while local people must have opportunities to participate in environmental governance and hold decision-makers accountable.
Beyond forests and coastal ecosystems, Bangladesh’s biodiversity challenges extend to urban wetlands, where pollution, encroachment and unplanned development continue to threaten ecological health.
The urgency of protecting urban ecosystems was highlighted on September 17 when Prime Minister Tarique Rahman directed authorities to strengthen coordinated efforts against pollution in Dhaka’s Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, Niketan and Dhanmondi lakes.
The directives included preventing sewage discharge, regular waste removal, installing sewage treatment plants and improving coordination among responsible agencies.
Protecting urban biodiversity also requires responsible land-use planning, ecological restoration, scientific monitoring and sustained public participation.
 The road to 2030
With less than four years remaining until the 2030 biodiversity deadline, COP17 offers Bangladesh an opportunity to strengthen international partnerships and address critical financing and implementation gaps.
The summit also comes amid growing international efforts to strengthen cooperation among the three Rio Conventions addressing biodiversity loss, climate change and desertification.
The Convention on Biological Diversity, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and UN Convention to Combat Desertification share interconnected environmental priorities, particularly ecosystem restoration, sustainable land management and climate resilience.
Greater coordination among the conventions could help countries such as Bangladesh integrate biodiversity conservation with climate adaptation and land restoration while improving access to technical assistance and financial resources.
Biodiversity finance is expected to remain a central issue at COP17 as developing countries seek greater international support to implement the Kunming-Montreal framework.
Although the government has confirmed its delegation, the official order does not specify Bangladesh’s negotiating priorities or proposed biodiversity finance commitments.
Experts say the real test will come after the summit, when international commitments must translate into stronger conservation measures, restored ecosystems and tangible benefits for communities whose livelihoods depend on nature.
