Taking action across agrifood systems for biodiversity and global impact at CBD COP17

Dushanbe (Tajikistan), Hybrid Event, 14/05/2026

This side event aligns with the COP17 Armenian Presidency’s ambition of “Taking Action for Nature” and aims to highlight the crucial role of agrifood systems in implementing the KMGBF in Europe and Central Asia. It will focus in particular on advancing biodiversity mainstreaming across agricultural sectors while reflecting regional perspectives and COP17 Presidency priorities.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted at the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), sets out a global road map for halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. As all the 2030 global targets relate in some way to actions by the agrifood sectors, transforming agrifood systems is pivotal to this road map and offers a key pathway to address biodiversity loss while ensuring food security, nutrition, productivity and resilience. In Europe and Central Asia, this is particularly relevant given the diversity of agrifood systems and the need to scale up practical solutions that support production and resilience while conserving and sustainably using biodiversity.

Building on the outcomes of the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, including the launch of the Agri-NBSAPs Support Initiative, as well as the 2025 third regional dialogue on biodiversity mainstreaming across agricultural sectors in Europe and Central Asia, FAO is supporting countries as a key partner in advancing coherent and integrated action on biodiversity to support agrifood systems transformation.

FAO is organizing this side event on the margins of the Thirty-fifth Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe, in foresight of the upcoming 2026 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, set to take place from 19 to 30 October in Yerevan, Armenia. The Government of Armenia will lead in convening the meetings, including the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) under the theme “Taking Action for Nature”.

COP17 will mark the collective progress in the implementation of the KMGBF through a global report. The Conference will be an important milestone for both the Government of Armenia, as host and president of COP17, as well as the Europe and Central Asia region to share experiences and demonstrate leadership in implementing the KMGBF. Many countries in the region are finalizing their updated and revised National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), to be aligned with the KMGBF.

Agenda

Opening remarks

Raimund Jehle, Deputy Regional Representative, FAO, Moderator
Video message from Hambardzum Matevosyan, Minister of Environment, COP17 Presidency, Armenia
Video message from Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary, CBD

Setting the scene

Jeremy Schlickenrieder, Natural Resources Officer, FAO

Panel discussion

Shukurzoda Isfandyor, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Environmental Protection, Tajikistan
Jose Luis Coelho Silva, Head of Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Affairs, Portugal
Oxana Kravtsova, "Environment and Health" Programme Manager, Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC)

Reflection