Biodiversity, encompassing everything from microscopic organisms to vast ecosystems, is essential for life on Earth. However, it is being lost at an unprecedented rate, threatening the survival of countless species, including humans. In response, governments worldwide agreed in 2022 on the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which provides a roadmap to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, with targets for the decade that include mobilizing finance, reducing pollution, and safeguarding species and genetic diversity by mid-century.
Turning this global vision into reality relies on national action, where individual countries’ plans play a critical role. National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) serve as each country’s roadmap for conserving plants, animals, and ecosystems while using natural resources sustainably and equitably. Under the GBF, countries have committed to halting biodiversity loss by 2030 and achieving harmony with nature by 2050, updating and implementing NBSAPs in line with these goals.
NBSAPs are vital because biodiversity underpins human survival, providing food, water, health, and livelihoods. With around 40 percent of the world’s land degraded, ongoing deforestation, and one million species at risk of extinction, strong NBSAPs guide environmental law, public policy, and funding allocation. They are the main mechanism for translating global biodiversity targets into actionable national plans, budgets, and on-the-ground interventions, ensuring international commitments lead to tangible results.
The benefits of robust NBSAPs are widespread but especially critical for vulnerable populations. Rural communities, women, Indigenous Peoples, and marginalized groups often suffer most from biodiversity loss, experiencing reduced food production and increased poverty. By restoring ecosystems and promoting sustainable land use, NBSAPs help improve livelihoods, strengthen food security, and reduce inequality.
NBSAPs also support sustainable development by protecting the natural systems that underpin global well-being. Healthy ecosystems provide pollination for over 75 percent of food crops, deliver freshwater, and support nearly half of global economic activity. They contribute to climate action by absorbing carbon dioxide through forests, wetlands, and soils while mitigating the impacts of floods and droughts.
Updating and implementing NBSAPs requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, involving ministries across sectors, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, civil society, and the private sector. Biodiversity considerations must be integrated into agriculture, health, energy, finance, mining, and infrastructure planning to ensure effective outcomes.
Despite the 2030 deadline approaching, progress has been uneven. Only 59 countries have submitted revised NBSAPs aligned with the Global Biodiversity Framework, highlighting the urgency of accelerating action. Effective implementation involves habitat restoration, law enforcement, invasive species control, financing, and meaningful community engagement.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) supports countries by providing technical assistance, capacity development, funding access, and knowledge-sharing platforms. Major multilateral funds, including the Global Environment Facility, the Kunming Biodiversity Fund, and the China Trust Fund Project, alongside initiatives like the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, help countries transform global biodiversity commitments into practical national actions.
