In the biodiversity policy arena and in particular in the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), during the Conference of the Parties (COP) 15 in December 2022 member states adopted the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Beyond conservation and restoration targets, the framework includes powerful language on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, including to their lands, territories, resources and traditional knowledge, and Free, Prior and Informed Consent,; customary land use practices, effective participation of IPs and LCs in decision-making and spatial planning, gender equality and equal rights to land and resources of women, access to justice and protection of environmental land rights defenders, and commitments to sustainable agricultural practices, including agroecology.
While the monitoring framework will be at the centre of COP 16 in late 2024, the national implementation of the Convention as well as the GBF continues to be reported through governments’ National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), many of which currently in the process of being updated in line with the GBF.
This session will bring together stakeholder representatives, policy experts and CSOs to learn from technical experts and share experiences about how national policy spaces generated by the implementation of the GBF can be seized to advance tenure security and land rights.