Nairobi is gearing up to host a major United Nations biodiversity meeting from 27 July – 1 August that will help shape global negotiations on protecting nature ahead of the U.N. biodiversity summit later this year.
The 28th Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-28) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will bring together government officials, scientists, technical experts, Indigenous peoples, local communities and observers to review scientific and policy issues related to biodiversity conservation.
SBSTTA is the CBD’s main scientific advisory body. Its recommendations form the basis for decisions adopted by parties to the convention and its two protocols, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit sharing.
The meeting comes ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, scheduled for 19-30 October in Yerevan, Armenia, where governments are expected to negotiate measures aimed at accelerating global action to halt biodiversity loss.
Among the key issues on the agenda is a review of progress in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the international agreement adopted in 2022 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Delegates will discuss monitoring indicators and reporting requirements to assess whether countries are on track to meet the framework’s targets.
Participants will also examine developments in synthetic biology, including recommendations from an expert group and a draft action plan covering capacity building, technology transfer and knowledge sharing. Discussions are expected to focus on balancing the technology’s potential benefits with possible risks to biodiversity.
The meeting will also consider draft global guidance on sustainable wildlife management, with discussions expected to focus on inclusive decision-making, the integration of scientific and Indigenous knowledge, and equitable sharing of benefits from wildlife resources.
Other agenda items include reviewing the programme of work on protected areas, considering findings from the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and discussing marine and coastal biodiversity, including ecologically or biologically significant marine areas.
Hosting the meeting gives Kenya and the wider African region an opportunity to play a greater role in shaping international biodiversity policy, particularly on issues such as biodiversity monitoring, synthetic biology and implementation of the Kunming-Montreal framework.
The recommendations adopted in Nairobi are expected to provide the scientific and technical foundation for negotiations at COP17, where governments will decide on the next steps toward achieving the global goal of living in harmony with nature by 2050.
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