The UN’s just-released scorecard on the world’s
“Paris Agreement for Nature” is lit up orange and
red.
Individual countries’ promises don’t match up
to the Global Biodiversity Framework’s ambitions, it
warns, while progress is too slow to meet 2030 targets on
pollution, invasive species, and including biodiversity in
land use planning.
The UN’s 17th biodiversity
conference begins next week in Armenia.
The
SMC asked NZ experts about the scorecard and what they’re
looking out for at the
conference.
Professor Cate
Macinnis-Ng, School of Biological Sciences, University of
Auckland, comments:
“The 17th UN
Biodiversity Conference is an opportunity for a stock-take
on progress towards the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity
Framework. This Framework includes a range of targets for
2030, and goals for 2050. Of the 23 targets, many
are focused on steps towards protecting and enhancing
biodiversity, such as reducing pollution and minimising the
impacts of invasive species and climate
change.
“They also include actions focused on
communities and peoples, such as encouraging customary
sustainable use by Indigenous peoples, sharing the benefits
from natural resources and ensuring decision-making is
inclusive of diverse knowledge. While these targets are
global, every country needs to contribute with intentional
policies that will align with the targets, if they are to be
reached.
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“In New Zealand, our current government
seems to be working against the Global Biodiversity
Framework targets with policies that side-line Māori,
rushed developments without proper consideration of
environmental impacts, woefully inadequate spending on
conservation and minimal action on climate
change.
“In March 2026, the Action
for Nature: Implementation plan for Te Mana o te Taiao –
Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy 2020 was
released. This may seem like an improvement on COP16 two
years ago where there was no
plan for New Zealand. However, while the strategy
includes some worthwhile action items, it is unclear how
these will be resourced. Without proper funding and staffing
capacity, it is unlikely the strategy can be delivered in
the timeframe indicated.
“Healthy ecosystems and
thriving biodiversity underpin human health and well-being
and economic prosperity. As we head towards an election, we
desperately need policies that are fully funded and actively
engage with the Global Biodiversity Framework targets.
Failure to act on this is internationally embarrassing and
threatens the future of future
generations.”
Conflict of interest statement:
“Cate Macinnis-Ng is Lead Author for the IPCC Assessment
Round 7 (Working Group II) but the views expressed here do
not represent those of the
IPCC.”
Professor Jonathan Tonkin, School
of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury,
comments:
“The new global assessment makes
it clear that the world is not on track to meet its
biodiversity commitments by 2030. The Kunming-Montreal
Global Biodiversity Framework has helped to galvanise action
and to identify clear targets, but it has been less
successful at addressing the underlying drivers of
biodiversity loss.
“The world has agreed on what
needs to happen. But agreement does not mean ecological
recovery, nor do national plans that are not implemented.
Measurable progress is happening. But it’s not happening
at the scale and pace required. Implementation, monitoring,
finance, and governance are the key challenges.
“For
Aotearoa New Zealand, the report is a reminder of the
commitment-implementation gap. Our
own reporting highlights that we are behind on many of
our national targets towards protecting biodiversity. There
has been progress in some areas but it remains limited
relative to the scale of the challenge. Reversing the
declines in our native biodiversity requires sustained
action on the drivers of biodiversity loss, including
habitat destruction and land-use intensification, invasive
species, and climate change. It also requires adequate
resourcing and monitoring that tells us whether our actions
are actually improving the state of nature.
“New
Zealand highlights conservation successes in places where
progress is measurable and visible, while many of the
ecosystems most affected by ongoing land-use pressures, such
as freshwater ecosystems, continue to decline.
“As
we approach 2030, intensifying existing efforts alone will
not be enough. Improving our ability to track, evaluate and
learn from biodiversity interventions is equally
important.
“The recently released Living
Planet Report tells a similar story. The numbers are
stark: abundances of monitored vertebrate populations have
declined by 73% on average since 1970; freshwater
populations by 85%. Nature remains in crisis. But it’s
important to open our eyes to both sides of the story. The
latest Living Planet Report has also shown around half of
the monitored populations are either stable or increasing.
Our planet supports an extraordinary diversity of life.
While we may have made it harder for that life to persist,
we’ve also shown that we can turn things
around.
“The challenge is no longer making strong
commitments, but to translate them into measurable
ecological outcomes. The Living Planet Report reminds us
that positive change is within reach. The upcoming COP17 UN
Convention on Biological Diversity meeting is an opportunity
for countries to honestly evaluate these gaps between
commitments and outcomes. New Zealand should take leadership
in this space by demonstrating delivery at
home.”
Conflict of interest statement: “No
COIs.”
Dr Philippa Brakes, behavioural
ecologist, University of Canterbury,
comments:
Note: Dr Brakes is part of a
group hosting a side event on Animal Culture at the UN
biodiversity conference, livestreamed here.
“We
increasingly recognise that culture is not unique to humans.
Many animals learn from others, including birds, mammals and
fish, passing on knowledge and behaviours that can shape how
they find food, communicate, migrate and survive.”We have
some remarkable examples here in Aotearoa and across the
Pacific. Humpback whales share and spread complex songs
across the ocean, with new songs travelling between
populations over thousands of kilometres. Sperm whales form
distinct cultural clans, each with characteristic patterns
of clicks. Southern right whales learn about the location of
critical habitat from their mothers, which informs
conservation and helps us understand how to support recovery
of whales visiting our coastlines.
“These examples
are fascinating, but they are also important for
conservation. Learning from others can help animals respond
to challenges in their environment. Losing experienced
individuals, or disrupting social groups, may mean losing
valuable knowledge that cannot easily be
replaced.
“At the upcoming Convention on Biological
Diversity in Armenia, our side event on animal cultures will
explore how animal culture may be one of the missing puzzle
pieces for wildlife conservation and how understanding of
non-human cultures can be better recognised in international
biodiversity policy and conservation
practice.
“Protecting biodiversity is not simply a
matter of maintaining population numbers. We also need to
consider the social relationships, learned behaviours and
the ecological knowledge that will help wildlife populations
survive and adapt in a rapidly changing
world.”
Conflict of interest statement: “I am
the Chair of the UNEP CMS Expert Working Group on Animal
Culture and the Co-Chair of the IUCN Task Force on the
Conservation of Animal Culture – so I am part of the team
that is organising this
event.”
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