The resumed second part of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 15) elected new vice-presidents of the Bureau and the CBD subsidiary bodies, concluding its work. The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) “placed a strong emphasis on developing synergistic strategies for concurrently addressing two primary drivers of biodiversity loss, namely, climate change and invasive alien species (IAS).”

The 25th meeting of the SBSTTA and the resumed second part of CBD COP 15 took place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 15-20 October 2023. COP 15 convened concurrently with the tenth meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CP-MOP-10) and the fourth MOP to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising from their Utilization (NP-MOP-4)

Meeting ten months after the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the SBSTTA offered expert advice on the scientific, technical, and technological aspects of GBF implementation. According to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) summary report of the meeting, the various aspects of implementation addressed by delegates included monitoring frameworks, mechanisms for planning and review, scientific and technical needs, and plant conservation.

Reflecting on the implications of the recent scientific assessments on climate and biodiversity, delegates acknowledged the urgent need to adopt a comprehensive approach simultaneously targeting key challenges and discussed ways to increase collaboration among multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in GBF implementation.

SBSTTA 25 adopted eight resolutions on:

• plant conservation;
• review of findings from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature;
• IAS;
• approaches to identify the scientific and technical needs to support GBF implementation;
• sustainable wildlife management;
• scientific, technical, and technological inputs that should inform the global review of collective progress in GBF implementation;
• the monitoring framework for the GBF; and
• biodiversity and climate change.

Reconvening for a resumed second part of its 15th meeting, the CBD COP elected new Chairs of the CBD subsidiary bodies. Following Türkiye’s withdrawal of its offer to host COP 16 because of the toll of February’s destructive earthquakes, the CBD Secretariat will continue to consult with parties on the date and venue of the next meeting. The ENB analysis of the meeting notes that having spanned “just over two years,” COP 15 “set a record as the longest meeting in the history of the Convention.” [ENB Coverage of SBSTTA 25 and Resumed Second Part of CBD COP 15]