Nearly 200 governments approved late agreements at COP17 in Yerevan to speed action for nature, but the final texts were not yet public.
A review finds progress falling short
COP17 was a halfway check on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022 after none of the previous 20 Aichi biodiversity targets was fully achieved. The framework set 23 targets for 2030 and four longer-term goals, including protecting 30% of land, inland waters and seas, restoring damaged ecosystems, cutting harmful subsidies and increasing conservation funding.
Nearly 90% of countries had set national biodiversity targets, and more than 70% had filed progress reports. But fewer than half of the national targets assessed by governments were on track, and national plans often did not cover the full scope of the global targets.
What the Yerevan agreement aims to do
The central outcome was a decision on the first global review, called the “Yerevan Pathway.” Delegates approved it on Friday, October 30, but its final wording was not immediately public. A WWF account published the next day said it acknowledges insufficient progress and gives countries guidance to accelerate action, including on finance and harmful subsidies.
The decision points to stronger follow-through, not a replacement for the 2022 framework or new enforceable quotas for individual countries.
Funding remains a difficult issue
The framework calls for mobilising $200 billion a year for biodiversity by 2030, including $30 billion a year in international finance for developing countries. It also calls for reducing incentives harmful to nature by at least $500 billion a year by 2030. The global biodiversity finance gap is estimated at $700 billion a year.
Before the deal, AFP reported that the European Union wanted wealthy emerging economies such as China to help fund conservation, while developing countries sought greater support from richer states. Disputes over subsidy reform involved sectors including fossil fuels, agriculture and overfishing.
WWF said governments agreed on criteria to guide a future permanent finance mechanism, a formal review of two existing funding channels, and a voluntary broadening of the countries contributing to international biodiversity finance. More than $1.8 billion in new funding had been announced by the end of the summit’s high-level ministerial segment, but that does not mean the annual global target has been met.
The next test is action at home
Ecosystems support food security, livelihoods, health and climate resilience. The Yerevan Declaration connected those benefits to the well-being of present and future generations. Indigenous peoples and local communities are also central to protecting biodiversity through their lands, waters and knowledge. WWF said COP17 found a way forward on strengthening human-rights-based approaches; a practical test will be whether communities have a meaningful role and conservation funding reaches the places and people expected to deliver it.
National governments must now update plans, direct budgets, reform harmful incentives and report results. The review process can compare reports and expose gaps, but it cannot itself protect habitats or redirect subsidies. WWF says Ecuador will host COP18 in 2028, while the Convention’s schedule calls for the next global review at COP19. The Yerevan agreements will matter if that review finds measurable changes on the ground.