Kunming Dialogue Builds Momentum for COP17

Global attention on biodiversity governance has once again turned to Kunming, Yunnan Province. On September 6, the “Kunming Dialogue: Global Review of Collective Progress in the Implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” opened, bringing together senior representatives from China, Canada, Armenia and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to build consensus ahead of COP17, to be held next month in Yerevan, Armenia.

At a critical halfway point in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the meeting confronted the challenges facing global efforts to meet its targets. Zhang Yujun, Director-General of the Department of Nature and Ecology Conservation at China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said that despite growing global awareness of biodiversity protection, overall progress remains behind the ambitious 2030 targets. Developing countries face particularly urgent challenges, he said, underscoring the need to rapidly translate political commitments into stronger action.

China highlighted its progress in ecological protection, including the adoption of the country’s first ecological and environmental code, the designation of ecological conservation redlines covering more than 30 percent of its land area, and the full operation of the Kunming Biodiversity Fund. The fund is providing support for 31 projects across 45 developing countries, demonstrating China’s continued commitment to global biodiversity conservation.

Addressing the gap between global ambitions and progress on the ground, Canadian Secretary of State for Nature Nathalie Provost stressed that no country can succeed alone and called for faster implementation through natural capital accounting and broad-based local partnerships. Armenia’s Environment Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan, representing the incoming COP17 presidency, said the central mission of the Yerevan conference would be to move “from assessment to acceleration,” with a strong focus on resource mobilization and transparent accountability.

On concerns over reforming environmentally harmful subsidies and navigating geopolitical challenges, CBD Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker acknowledged that overcoming resistance would not be easy. She reiterated the need to redirect hundreds of billions of dollars in harmful incentives each year toward regenerative agriculture and a green circular economy, stressing that biodiversity is not only an ecological lifeline but also a fundamental foundation of the global economy and human society.

Although the week-long informal dialogue does not involve formal negotiations, it is intended to strengthen the scientific and political foundations for COP17. Participants called for governments and wider society to overcome obstacles and work together, carrying the consensus built in Kunming forward to Yerevan and accelerating efforts to fulfil the historic commitment to protect the planet by 2030.