CBD-COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia

What’s at stake at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Yerevan? Read analyses, commentaries and background information on CBD COP17, as well as the key outcomes of previous biodiversity conferences.

Blick über Jerewan im Frühling mit dem schneebedeckten Berg Ararat im Hintergrund und dem Opernhaus im Vordergrund. — Image credits

CBD COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia

Date & Location: Yerevan, Armenia, 19–30 October 2026

Presidency: Armenia

Key Topics:

Resource mobilization and financing mechanisms
Progress on the Global Biodiversity Framework
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
Digital Sequence Information (DSI)
Synthetic Biology

Websites: CBD COP, CBD COP17

Previous CBD COP: COP16 in Cali, Colombia

Next CBD COP: COP18 will take place in 2028; the location has yet to be determined.

About CBD COP17 in Yerevan

COP17 - held in Yerevan, Armenia, from 19-30 October 2026 under the theme Taking Action for Nature – will be the second biodiversity COP since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. COP17 will conduct the first Global Review of the GBF to assess global progress and actions towards the achievement of the GBF biodiversity targets by analysing the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).

The agenda also includes resource mobilization and financial mechanism, the implementation of Article 8(j) – relating to traditional knowledge, innovation and practices – and other provisions of the CBD related to indigenous peoples and local communities, digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources, synthetic biology, and more.

The Heinrich Boell Foundation will follow the negotiations and events of COP17 and also send a delegation to Yerevan.

We are also a member of the civil society network CBD Alliance. Their daily ECO newsletters during COP17 can be found here.

CBD COP17: Background

Ein Orang-Utan sitzt auf dem Waldboden, in der linken Hand hält er etwas zu essen, mit der linken Hand verdeckt er seine Augen.

Biodiversity Conservation: Agreement Relies on Controversial Financing Approaches

Analysis

Controversial financing instruments have gained importance in biodiversity conservation efforts since the Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted in 2022. But turning nature into an investment object will not stop the biodiversity crisis.

Jutta Kill

Regional Perspectives

Green forest covers the slopes of a canyon, with rocky cliffs rising above the valley.

Armenia’s Biodiversity Conservation Agenda Ahead of COP 17

Study

As Armenia prepares to host COP17, its biodiversity faces growing pressures from mining, hydropower and deforestation. What will it take to turn the country’s conservation commitments into action?

What is the CBD COP?

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a multilateral treaty. It entered into force in 1993 and has 196 parties.

The Convention has three main objectives:

The conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity);
The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity;
The fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the governing body of the Convention. It advances implementation of the Convention through the decisions it takes at its periodic meetings. Following a change in the rules of procedure in 2000, these meetings are being held every two years.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted during COP15 and sets out the pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050. Among the GBF’s key elements are 4 goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030. The GBF supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and builds on the Convention’s previous Strategic Plans.

Looking Back at Previous Biodiversity Conferences

Key facts and major outcomes of the biodiversity conferences COP16, COP15, COP14 and COP13.

CBD COP16 in Cali, Columbia

CBD COP16 took place in Cali, Colombia, in October 2024 and concluded in Rome in February 2025. The Parties took important steps towards implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly regarding financing, monitoring progress, digital sequence information and the increased participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

CBD COP16: Wins and losses for biodiversity and peoples, unfinished business on implementation

Commentary

The sixteenth UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, faced significant challenges and ran overtime due to disagreements between developing and developed countries. A resumed meeting will be required to address these unfinished issues.

Mirna Inés Fernández

After the COP16 Biodiversity Conference in Colombia: What remains and what comes next

Commentary

The UN Conference on Biological Diversity (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, ended in early November with important resolutions, but no agreement on the key issue of financing biodiversity conservation.

Evelyn Hartig

CBD COP16 in Colombia: Focus on the future of biodiversity

Commentary

The 16th UN conference on biodiversity in Colombia faces the challenge of delivering results for the conservation of biological diversity. In addition to financing strategies, measures to protect biodiversity and ecosystems are urgently needed.

Evelyn Hartig, Victor da Silva Souza

CBD COP15 in Kunming, China, and Montreal, Canada

CBD COP15 began in Kunming, China, in 2021 and concluded in Montreal, Canada, in 2022. Its most significant outcome was the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF): With four long-term goals and 23 targets to be achieved by 2030, it provides the global framework for the protection and restoration of biodiversity.

“Ecological civilisation” and the conservation of biological diversity – a glance at China ahead of CBD COP 15

Interview

The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will kick off in October 2021 in Kunming, China. What is the importance of biodiversity in China and what are the Chinese government's goals for COP 15? Lili Fuhr, Head of the International Environmental Policy Division, spoke with our Beijing Office Director, Paul Kohlenberg.

Lili Fuhr

CBD COP 15: "The loss of biodiversity poses an existential threat"

Interview

Before the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Montreal, Member of the German Bundestag Jan-Niclas Gesenhues answered questions about the interconnection of the climate and biodiversity crisis, economic models that consider well being, and more sustainable consumption.

Philipp Kuehl

CBD COP14 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt

CBD COP14 took place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2018. The Parties initiated the process of developing a new global biodiversity framework for the post-2020 period, which later became the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation’s position on COP14

The 14th Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the Convention on Biological Diversity will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, from the 17th to the 29th of November 2018. The Heinrich Böll Foundation stands in solidarity with Egyptian civil society and will therefore not take part in this year’s COP in Sharm El-Sheikh.

CBD COP13 in Cancún, Mexico

CBD COP13 took place in Cancún, Mexico, in December 2016. The main focus was on better integrating biodiversity conservation into other policy and economic sectors. In particular, the Parties agreed to give greater consideration to biodiversity in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism.