Investing in biodiversity: unlocking greater returns

The Liaison Group of the Biodiversity-related Conventions stresses the contribution of biodiversity to national economies, livelihoods, human health and food security.

4 March 2025, Rome. The Liaison Group of Biodiversity-related Conventions, a long-standing group uniting the executive heads of the eight biodiversity-related conventions, met at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, in advance of the resumed Sixteenth Conference of Parties (COP16) of the Convention on Biodiversity. The group reaffirmed their collective support to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The Liaison Group of Biodiversity-related Conventions, established in 2004, represents an important forum to foster synergies, policy coherence and cooperation among the eight conventions, namely the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), the Convention on Wetlands, the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), and the International Whaling Commission (IWC). At the meeting, held on 21 February 2025 and hosted by the secretariats of the ITPGRFA and the IPPC, the group stressed the importance of investing in biodiversity to generate higher returns and mitigate the economic risks of biodiversity loss. The eight members highlighted how, by joining efforts under the respective mandates of the conventions, they can amplify the collective benefits to people and planet.

The meeting included a session with the secretariat of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the FAO Office on Climate Change, Biodiversity and the Environment which focused on the contribution of biodiversity to food production and the importance of aligning science with policy. The Group will continue to coordinate and cooperate on key shared priorities and objectives to ensure the work of its members contributes to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and is well-aligned with the requests and expectations of their respective contracting Parties.

These may include, among others, communication, capacity-building, resource mobilization, monitoring, scientific research and integrated national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs). Such common priority areas support sharing best practices and working together to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, coherence and innovative approaches.

The eight secretariats will also continue their collaboration in harnessing the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the international level as well as with Parties at the national level through their respective focal points with responsibilities both for national implementation, convention governance and development of NBSAPs.

For additional information, please contact David Ainsworth, [email protected].