COUNTRIES AGREE NEW GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLAN AT COP17, BUT FUNDING GAPS THREATEN 2030 TARGETS
By Iroyin Yoruba Television
YEREVAN, October 31, 2026 — Governments participating in the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) have agreed on a new international plan to accelerate efforts to protect the world's ecosystems, although concerns remain over whether sufficient funding will be available to achieve the targets by 2030.
The two-week conference, which concluded on Saturday in Armenia's capital, Yerevan, adopted an agreement known as the Yerevan Pathway. The decision establishes priorities for speeding up biodiversity protection after an international assessment found that the world was falling behind on almost all major conservation targets.
The agreement focuses on reducing environmentally harmful subsidies, increasing financial support for developing countries and ensuring that national budgets and public spending are more closely aligned with biodiversity protection.
The negotiations were conducted against growing international concern over deforestation, habitat destruction, pollution, declining wildlife populations and the effects of climate change on natural ecosystems.
The conference also marked the first global review of progress under the Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in Montreal in 2022.
That framework established ambitious targets for governments to protect nature and reverse biodiversity loss before the end of the decade.
Among its major objectives is the commitment to conserve at least 30 per cent of the world's land, inland waters, coastal areas and marine environments by 2030.
It also calls for the restoration of at least 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems, reform of harmful subsidies and the mobilisation of approximately $200 billion annually to support biodiversity conservation.
However, the review presented at COP17 showed that international implementation remains insufficient.
Nearly 90 per cent of parties to the biodiversity convention had established national targets, but fewer than half of those assessed were on track to achieve them.
The Yerevan Pathway is intended to address some of these shortcomings by encouraging governments to accelerate implementation rather than rely on commitments that have not translated into measurable results.
Financial support emerged as one of the most difficult issues during the negotiations.
Organisers announced that more than $1.8 billion in financing had been pledged by governments, philanthropic organisations and private investors during the conference.
Despite the announcement, conservation advocates warned that the amount remained inadequate compared with the scale of investment required to protect ecosystems worldwide.
Governments also agreed to intensify efforts towards the existing target of reducing harmful incentives and subsidies by at least $500 billion annually by 2030.
Such incentives can encourage activities that damage forests, wetlands, oceans and other natural environments.
Delegates further agreed to review existing funding arrangements, establish criteria for a future permanent financing mechanism and voluntarily broaden the group of countries contributing to international biodiversity funding.
The financing debate is particularly important for developing countries, many of which contain significant biodiversity resources but face financial and technical challenges in protecting them.
Countries with extensive forests, wetlands, coastlines and wildlife habitats often require international support to strengthen conservation programmes, improve monitoring and provide sustainable livelihoods for communities dependent on natural resources.
The conference outcome also highlighted the importance of ensuring that conservation policies produce practical benefits for local populations.
Environmental organisations stressed that governments must now move from negotiations to implementation, warning that international agreements will have limited impact without adequate financing, accountability and measurable progress.
The next major meeting under the biodiversity convention, COP18, is scheduled to take place in Quito, Ecuador, in 2028.
Before then, governments will face pressure to demonstrate progress on the commitments adopted in Armenia and show that the 2030 conservation targets remain achievable.
The Yerevan agreement therefore represents an important step in international cooperation, but its success will ultimately depend on whether governments provide the resources and political commitment needed to turn the new priorities into concrete environmental action.