As biodiversity faces unprecedented threats, the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), part of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference 2024, will reconvene at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy, from 25 to 27 February 2025.

This resumed session offers a crucial opportunity to finalise key decisions that can shape the planet’s ecological future.
For mountain regions like the Hindu Kush Himalaya, these discussions are vital in ensuring that their unique biodiversity is not overlooked. Parties will seek consensus on key unresolved issues, from last year at Cali, Colombia, including resource mobilisation, financial mechanism, and the monitoring and implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) will support its Regional Member Countries (RMCs) – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – in advancing the following priorities at the CBD COP 16 resumed session:

• • Advocate for the inclusion of the Green Cover Index (a measurement of the amount of green vegetation in a specific area) for Mountains as a key indicator in the KMGBF, so that mountain biodiversity is adequately represented, addressed, and measured in National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plans (NBSAPs).

• • Advocate for the development of a Resource Mobilisation Strategy to secure USD 200 billion annually for biodiversity initiatives by 2030. Also, advocate for reducing harmful incentives by at least USD 500 billion per year by 2030.

• • Advance the discussion on revising of the Programme of Work on Mountain Biodiversity, building up on the deliberations from the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBBSTA) at COP 16 in Cali, Colombia.

• • Contribute to the agenda on Planning, Monitoring, Reporting and Review (PMRR) Mechanism, particularly highlighting the issues related to limited capacity for data collection, management, and reporting.

As Observer to CBD COP, ICIMOD collaborates with its RMCs to keep mountain biodiversity challenges high on the agenda. Our participation strengthens global recognition of mountain biodiversity and its vulnerability to climate change while advocating for increased investment and actions at all governance levels.

Find more details about the CBD COP 16 resumed sessions here.

Check out the COP CBD 16 in Cali webpage here.

Other resources