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Spotlight on nature and biodiversity

Ocean Image Bank/Gregory Piper

Nature is humanity’s lifeline. Human health, food, economies and well-being depend on nature. Yet nature is in crisis. One million of the world’s estimated 8 million species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction. Meanwhile, ecosystem degradation is affecting the well-being of 40 per cent of the global population.

The spotlight on nature and biodiversity highlights updates from around the UN System, from partners and others, helping to call attention to the need for a just, prosperous and sustainable future for all.

21 Mar 2025 12:09

Handover of the Asia Pacific Regional Quadripartite Secretariat

People pose for a photo
Credit: UNEP

 

On 17 March, the Asia Pacific Regional Quadripartite Secretariat completed its chairmanship handover, transitioning from the World Health Organization (WHO) South East Asia to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Asia and the Pacific Office. The handover ceremony was held at the UNEP Asia and the Pacific Office in Bangkok, with representatives from Asia Pacific Quadripartite partners, UNEP Ecosystems Division Director Susan Gardner, and Regional Director and Representative for Asia and the Pacific Representative Dechen Tsering in attendance.

The two-day meeting focused on reviewing progress and aligning actions for the coming years to ensure ongoing support for One Health implementation across the region's member states.

More details on the event.

Last updated at
21 Mar 2025 04:49

Earth hour observance by the Convention on Biological Diversity

Forest reflected in a droplet of water
Credit: Unsplash/Heather Wilde

 

On 22 March, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., millions around the world will observe Earth Hour. This is a time to pause and reflect on humanity’s relationship with nature.

As a member of the United Nations family, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is firmly committed to “Greening the Blue." The premises of the Secretariat in Montreal offer smart energy-saving systems that dim non-essential lights in public areas. For Earth Hour, the Secretariat will also pause all activities on social media in a bid to raise awareness of the world’s growing digital footprint. 

Full article

Last updated at
20 Mar 2025 17:09

How a grassroots financing model is helping Indigenous communities save the Amazon

An aerial view of the Amazon River.
Credit: AFP/Mauro Pimental 

 

In Peru, home to the second-biggest share of the Amazon after Brazil, a combination of factors, including wood extraction, mining, road construction and agricultural expansion, is driving deforestation, reports the International Research Partnership for Sustainable Food Systems (CGIAR). Much of that has happened on Indigenous lands, where poverty often forces community members into land use activities that compound deforestation, the report says. 

A United Nations-backed project is allocating more funds to communities to assist them in conserving, restoring, and sustainably managing forests. 

Find out more.

Last updated at
03 Mar 2025 15:53

Message from UNEP Executive Director on World Wildlife Day

 

Last updated at
28 Feb 2025 21:07

"Even in challenging times, environmental multilateralism works."- Inger Andersen

Participants celebrating the adoption of the decisions
Photo by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis

 

At the resumed session of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), Parties adopted key decisions that will drive the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework forward.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen emphasised the importance of environmental multilateralism in bringing countries together, concluding the work that began in Cali last year.

Last updated at
27 Feb 2025 10:44

How a new agreement could raise billions to protect the web of life

A frog hiding in plant
Credit: AFP/Gabriel Bouys 

 

The Cali Fund for the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits from the Use of Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources (DSI), or the "Cali Fund," was launched this week at the resumed session of COP 16 of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

To learn more about DSI and how the new fund will affect biodiversity, check out this Q&A with Neville Ash, Director of the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre.  

Last updated at
26 Feb 2025 15:18

Inside the effort to save an iconic Caribbean coral reef

A closeup of a fish and coral.
Credit: Ocean Image Bank/Hannes Klostermann

 

The Mesoamerican Reef, the Western Hemisphere's largest barrier reef, spans 1,000 kilometres along the coasts of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. However, pollution and climate change pose increasing threats to this vital ecosystem.

A coalition of organizations is working together to combat pollution and agricultural runoff, with the goal of protecting the Caribbean's iconic coral reefs, which are already under threat from climate change. 

Last updated at
25 Feb 2025 19:46

The Cali Fund launches in the margins of the resumed session of COP16

People pose for a photo
Credit: Convention on Biological Diversity

 

In a major development under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Cali Fund for the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits from the use of Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources (DSI)—the Cali Fund'—which will receive contributions from private sector entities making commercial use of DSI, launched today in Rome in the margins of the second day of the resumed session of COP 16 of the CBD at the Headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).  

The Cali Fund will mobilize new streams of funding for biodiversity action worldwide in support of the three objectives of the CBD: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. Recognizing their role and contributions as custodians of biodiversity, 50 per cent of the resources of the Cali Fund will be allocated to the self-identified needs of indigenous peoples and local communities, including women and youth.   

Full press release

Related: The Cali Fund: Financing for biodiversity conservation

Last updated at
25 Feb 2025 08:08

UN Biodiversity COP16.2/ Resumed sessions

A ladybug on a plant
Credit: Unsplash/Vincent van Zalinge

 

The UN Biodiversity Conference, suspended last year in Cali, Colombia, is reconvening in Rome, Italy, this week at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 

Negotiators will have three days to resolve the pending decisions from the biodiversity negotiations in Colombia, including on resource mobilization, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) monitoring framework, and the financial mechanism.

More information

Last updated at
24 Feb 2025 13:33

Quiz: How important is nature to humanity’s future?

Two orange clownfish hiding in a coral reef.
Credit: Ocean Image Bank/Gregory Piper

 

A little over two years ago, world leaders finalized the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a landmark deal designed to halt and reverse the alarming decline of the natural world.  

Since nature underpins nearly all economies and societies, experts say the framework is vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, humanity’s blueprint for a better future. 

In late 2024, UNEP launched a tool showcasing the links between the framework and the global goals. Take this quiz to see how much you know about the importance of biodiversity to sustainable development. 

Last updated at
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Related Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 1

Goal 1: No Poverty
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Goal 2

Goal 2: Zero Hunger
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Goal 3

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
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Goal 6

Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
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Goal 8

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
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Goal 12

Goal 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production
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Goal 13

Goal 13: Climate Action
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Goal 14

Goal 14: Life Below Water
+

Goal 15

Goal 15: Life on Land
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