A Critical Year for Nature: Now is the time to accelerate action on the Global Biodiversity Framework

E.J. Milner-Gulland, Éilish Farrelly , Talitha Bromwich, Cecil Haverkamp, Stefania Karlsdottir, Noelle Kumpel, Lain E Pardo, Rebecca Shaw, Thomas B White, Guido Broekhoven, Sarah Jones, Michael Obersteiner, Piero Visconti, Kotone Yamamoto, Mike Barrett

In October 2026, Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will convene to review progress against the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) adopted in 2022. A global report will provide a summary of collective progress, primarily drawing from government self-reporting at the halfway mark to 2030, the target year for halting and reversing nature loss. Data suggest that action on the KMGBF to date, including through national plans and implementation strategies, remains highly insufficient. At the same time, the decline of biodiversity is continuing, with a real danger of reaching irreversible tipping points. We highlight four key needs to help turn this situation around: (i) an independent mechanism to track actual efforts and outcomes, not just ambition; (ii) an approach for prioritising the most impactful actions that countries could take, incorporating principles of fairness and ability to act; (iii) a broader whole-of-society dialogue on what works and what is needed; and (iv) a mechanism for incorporating context-specific scientific insights to support action. In order to turn these needs into opportunities, we propose specific tools which could reinforce and account for collective action during these critical next few years.