Countries agree Yerevan Pathway to accelerate biodiversity action toward 2030

At the halfway mark to 2030, countries meeting in Armenia have agreed a roadmap to accelerate action for nature, after a global review found the world off track to meet its biodiversity targets. UN News.

Agreement was formalized through the Yerevan Pathway as the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17) closed in the Armenian capital on Saturday. The pathway sets out priorities for the four years left to deliver the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Its finance terms are direct. The pathway calls on countries to tackle subsidies that harm nature and to increase financial, scientific, and technical support for developing countries. It also calls for national budgets and economic decisions to be aligned with the framework, and for stronger monitoring and reporting.

Parties adopted nearly 50 decisions in 2026, covering protected areas and forests, wildlife management, invasive alien species, marine and coastal biodiversity, and synthetic biology. After intensive negotiations, they also agreed the Sevan Guidelines, which set the rules of operation for a new permanent body strengthening the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in shaping global biodiversity policy.

In 2026, nearly $2 billion in new biodiversity funding was announced. Of that announced package, $560 million was listed under the Global Environment Facility’s latest replenishment and $500 million through the Species Recovery Alliance. Another $330 million from the same package is going to the Value Nature Fund, which aims to mobilize private capital for nature. Other initiatives included a new biodiversity bond and investment incubator launched by the Asian Development Bank, and new indicators to improve biodiversity monitoring and accountability.

UN News reported the conference package from Yerevan.

The next conference, COP18, will be held in Ecuador.