UN Summit on biodiversity

The UN Summit on Biodiversity aims to provide political direction and momentum for the development of a post-2020 global biodiversity framework. The event will also demonstrate ambition and commitment to accelerate action on biodiversity for sustainable development, highlight the connections between biodiversity, societies and economies, and showcase biodiversity’s multiple and essential contributions to sustainable development.



The United Nations Summit on Biodiversity will be convened by the President of the General Assembly, at the level of Heads of State and Government under the theme of “Urgent action on biodiversity for sustainable development.”



- 10 to 10.50 a.m.: Opening segment

- 10.50 to 1 p.m.: Plenary segment

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- 15:00 to 16:15: Leaders dialogue 1 - Theme: Addressing biodiversity loss and mainstreaming biodiversity for sustainable development.

- 16:15 to 17:30: Leaders dialogue 2 - Theme: Harnessing science, technology and innovation, capacity-building, access and benefit-sharing, financing and partnerships for biodiversity.

- 17:30 to 18:00: Closing segment.



Participants in the opening segment will include the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, the President of the Economic and Social Council, the hosts of the fourteenth and fifteenth meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, respectively, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. An eminent champion of biodiversity and a youth leader, one of whom should be a representative of indigenous peoples and local communities.



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Our societies are intimately linked with and depend on biodiversity. Biodiversity is essential for people, including through its provision of nutritious food, clean water, medicines, and protection from extreme events. Biodiversity loss and the degradation of its contributions to people jeopardize progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and human wellbeing. The evidence of these connections is clear.



The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of the relationship between people and nature. We are reminded that when we destroy and degrade biodiversity, we undermine the web of life and increase the risk of disease spillover from wildlife to people. Responses to the pandemic provide a unique opportunity for transformative change as a global community. An investment in the health of our planet is an investment in our own future.



The Summit will highlight the crisis facing humanity from the degradation of biodiversity and the urgent need to accelerate action on biodiversity for sustainable development. It will provide an opportunity for Heads of State and Government and other leaders to raise ambition for the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework to be adopted at the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2021. This framework, and its effective implementation, must put nature on a path to recovery by 2030 to meet the SDGs and realize the Vision of “Living in harmony with nature”.

