COP17 adopts Yerevan Pathway for nature

Governments adopted the Yerevan Pathway as the UN biodiversity conference concluded in Armenia on October 31, setting priorities for faster action on the world's 2030 nature goals. The Convention on Biological Diversity secretariat reported nearly 50 decisions, with the Pathway responding to the progress review.

The agreed direction covers harmful subsidies, support for developing countries and closer alignment of national budgets with biodiversity goals. Parties also agreed operating rules, named the Sevan Guidelines, for the permanent Article 8(j) body supporting Indigenous peoples and local communities in policymaking.

The secretariat reported nearly $2 billion in new funding announcements, including $560 million through GEF-9 and its Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, $500 million through the Species Recovery Alliance and more than $330 million through the Value Nature Fund. These are announced financing commitments, not a tally of money already spent.

Earlier decisions show where implementation starts

The closing outcome follows decisions adopted during the opening week. In its October 26 account, the secretariat said governments had agreed measures on invasive alien species, gender, education and knowledge management. The invasive-species work includes earlier detection, sharing information, emergency responses and transferring technology to help countries prevent and manage harmful introductions.

Separate decisions under the Cartagena Protocol addressed monitoring, reporting and compliance, as well as stronger national implementation processes. The Nagoya Protocol's work also covered monitoring, reporting and compliance. These parallel agreements concern biosafety and access to genetic resources, rather than replacing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework with a single new conservation programme.

The same October 26 report said the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund had programmed more than $362 million across 87 countries since its establishment, offering an existing channel alongside the new funding announcements.

The ministerial segment, held on October 27 and 28, had already brought finance and environment leaders together before the final agreement. The secretariat's October 29 report described dialogues on collaboration between their ministries and the launch of platforms dealing with mountains and freshwater, biodiversity monitoring and conservation areas outside conventional protected-area systems.

The financial targets are larger than this conference’s pledges

The framework's existing Target 18 explains why subsidies feature in the new direction. It calls for harmful incentives, including subsidies, to be eliminated, phased out or reformed fairly, with reductions reaching at least $500 billion a year by 2030. It also calls for expanding positive incentives for conservation and sustainable use.

That target sets a global reform objective. It does not identify a new payment available to an individual farmer or impose a single subsidy change on every country. Its wording requires proportionate and equitable action, starting with the incentives that cause the greatest harm to biodiversity.

Target 19 separately seeks at least $200 billion a year for biodiversity by 2030 from domestic and international sources, both public and private. Within that total, international resources for developing countries are meant to rise to at least $30 billion annually by 2030, with particular attention to the least developed countries and small island states.

Its financing routes include national biodiversity finance plans, private investment and instruments such as payments for ecosystem services and green bonds. The target also specifies environmental and social safeguards and greater transparency in how resources are provided and used. Conference announcements therefore need to be followed through into financing arrangements and implementation.

National delivery is the next test

The earlier assessment behind the talks shows the distance still to travel. Published on October 15, it found that nearly 90 per cent of CBD parties had set national targets, but fewer than half of targets assessed by countries were on track. National commitments covered an average of 22 of the 23 global targets, often without addressing their full scope.

In its October 31 response, environmental law charity ClientEarth said the Pathway's value would depend on national legislation and practical government action. Its policy director Amy Fairbairn emphasised enforcement and accountability, alongside the rights and participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities. That is the organisation's assessment of what should follow, rather than an additional negotiated decision.

The next CBD conference is due in Ecuador in 2028, two years before the framework's deadline.