Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF or GBF) is the world's main plan to stop and reverse the loss of nature. It was adopted in December 2022 by the countries that are part of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). It sets 4 long-term goals for 2050 and 23 targets to reach by 2030. Its best-known target is "30x30": protecting at least 30% of the world's land and 30% of its oceans by 2030.

Why does it exist?

Wildlife populations are falling fast, as reports like the Living Planet Report show. Countries had made an earlier global plan, but it failed. The world needed a new, clearer plan with measurable targets, money to support poorer countries, and a way to check each country's progress. The GBF is that plan. It is often called the "Paris Agreement for nature", although unlike the Paris Agreement it is not a separate treaty.

Where did it come from?

• 1992: The Convention on Biological Diversity was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It has three aims: conserving biodiversity, using it sustainably, and sharing fairly the benefits from genetic resources. India ratified it in 1994. The CBD's top body is the Conference of the Parties (COP), which meets about every two years.
• 2010: At COP10 in Nagoya, Japan, countries adopted the Aichi Biodiversity Targets: 20 targets for 2011 to 2020.
• 2020: The Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 found that none of the 20 Aichi targets was fully met; only six were partly met.
• December 2022: At COP15, the GBF was adopted on 19 December 2022. China held the presidency (the meeting was planned for Kunming, China), but because of COVID-19 the main meeting took place in Montreal, Canada. That is why it carries both names.

What are the 4 goals for 2050?

• Goal A: Protect and restore ecosystems, stop human-caused extinction of known threatened species, and cut the extinction rate tenfold.
• Goal B: Use nature sustainably, so its benefits to people are kept and improved.
• Goal C: Share fairly the benefits from genetic resources and digital sequence information (DSI), including with indigenous peoples and local communities.
• Goal D: Provide enough money, technology and skills to all countries, especially developing ones, to carry out the plan.

Which 2030 targets matter most for the exam?

• Target 2: At least 30% of degraded land, water and marine ecosystems under effective restoration.
• Target 3 (30x30): At least 30% of land, inland waters and coastal and marine areas effectively conserved through protected areas and other area-based measures, while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples.
• Target 7: Cut pollution; halve the excess nutrients lost to the environment and halve the overall risk from pesticides.
• Target 15: Large companies and financial institutions to check and disclose their risks and impacts on biodiversity.
• Target 18: Cut harmful subsidies (government support that damages nature) by at least US$500 billion a year by 2030.
• Target 19: Raise at least US$200 billion a year by 2030 from all sources. Within this, rich countries should give developing countries at least US$20 billion a year by 2025 and US$30 billion a year by 2030.

How does it work in practice?

The GBF is a plan, not a law with penalties. Each country turns it into its own National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), with national targets. Countries then report their progress, and the COP reviews the global picture.

• COP16 (Cali, Colombia, 2024): created the Cali Fund, into which companies that profit from DSI are expected to pay a share. At least half of the money is meant for indigenous peoples and local communities. The meeting ran out of time and resumed in Rome in February 2025, where countries agreed a plan to mobilise US$200 billion a year by 2030.
• Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF): a fund set up under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in 2023 to help finance the targets.
• COP17 (Yerevan, Armenia, 19 to 30 October 2026): the first global review of progress on the 23 targets.

India's position

India launched its updated NBSAP at COP16 in October 2024, with 23 national targets matching the GBF. It aims to conserve at least 30% of its land, inland water, coastal and marine areas and to reduce the loss of highly biodiverse areas to close to zero by 2030. India's main law for the CBD is the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (amended in 2023), which set up the National Biodiversity Authority in Chennai, State Biodiversity Boards, and Biodiversity Management Committees at the local level.

India has stressed that rich countries must provide finance, and that targets like pesticide reduction must respect each country's own situation.

Commonly confused concepts

• Aichi Targets vs GBF targets: Aichi had 20 targets for 2011 to 2020 (adopted at Nagoya, 2010). The GBF has 23 targets for 2030 (adopted at COP15, 2022).
• Nagoya Protocol vs Cartagena Protocol: Both are add-on agreements under the CBD. The Nagoya Protocol (2010) is about access and benefit-sharing from genetic resources. The Cartagena Protocol (2000) is about the safe movement of living modified organisms (genetically modified organisms).
• Target 2 vs Target 3: Target 2 is about restoring 30% of damaged areas. Target 3 is about conserving 30% of all land and sea.
• CBD COP vs UNFCCC COP: The CBD COP deals with biodiversity. The UNFCCC COP (like COP30) deals with climate change. Both use the word "COP" and are often mixed up.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Not legally binding: There are no penalties if a country misses its targets, as happened with the Aichi Targets.
• Money gap: Developing countries say promised finance is too slow and too small. Disagreement over whether to create a new, separate biodiversity fund delayed COP16.
• Rights of local people: Indigenous groups worry that the 30x30 target could lead to "fortress conservation", where people are pushed out of protected areas. The GBF says their rights must be respected, but putting this into practice is hard.
• Measuring progress: Countries have been slow in submitting updated NBSAPs, and good data are missing for many species and regions.
• Far from 30x30: The Protected Planet Report 2024 (by UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, which track the world's protected areas) found that only 17.6% of land and inland waters and 8.4% of ocean and coastal areas were inside documented protected and conserved areas. Coverage grew by less than half a percentage point in each since 2020. At this pace, the world will not reach 30% by 2030.
• Way forward: Experts suggest cutting harmful subsidies quickly, making companies disclose their nature risks, recognising community-conserved areas, and using indicators like the Living Planet Index and the Red List Index to track progress honestly.

Concepts to Know

• Convention: An international agreement among many countries on a common issue.
• Conference of the Parties (COP): The regular meeting of all countries that have joined a convention, where they take decisions.
• Digital Sequence Information (DSI): Genetic information of plants, animals or microbes stored as digital data, used by companies to make medicines, seeds and other products.
• Harmful subsidies: Government money or tax benefits that encourage activities damaging to nature, such as over-fishing or overuse of chemical fertilisers.
• Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs): Areas outside official protected areas, such as sacred groves or community forests, that still protect nature well. They can count towards 30x30.
• NBSAP: A country's own plan explaining how it will meet the global biodiversity targets.