Side event of the 53rd UN Statistical Commission: Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

Side event of the 53rd United Nations Statistical Commission: Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

This event is organized by the Secretariat of Convention of Biological Diversity, European Union and United Nations Statistics Division 

The fifteenth Conference of Parties (CoP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), scheduled to take place in Kunming, China in April to May 2022,  is expected to adopt the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF) and its monitoring framework., as a stepping-stone towards the 2050 Vision of “Living in harmony with nature”. The post-2020 GBF builds on the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and sets out an ambitious plan to implement broad-based action to bring about a transformation in society’s relationship with biodiversity and to ensure that, by 2050, the shared vision of living in harmony with nature is fulfilled. The framework has 21 action-oriented targets for urgent action over the decade to 2030. The framework is built around a theory of change which recognizes that urgent policy action globally, regionally and nationally is required to transform economic, social and financial models so that the trends that have exacerbated biodiversity loss will stabilize in the next 10 years (by 2030) and allow for the recovery of natural ecosystems in the following 20 years, with net improvements by 2050 to achieve the vision of “living in harmony with nature by 2050” .

In the lead up to the CoP15, the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at its 24th session discussed the need for aligning with the SEEA in order to mainstream biodiversity in national statistical systems and strengthen national monitoring systems  and reporting. The Subsidiary Body also reflected on the role of the United Nations Statistical Commission, the Global Earth Observations – Biodiversity Observation Network, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership and other relevant organizations in supporting the operationalization of the global biodiversity framework monitoring framework. Additionally, the meeting included in the draft recommendation for the CoP15 a decision on establishing an ad hoc technical expert group to advise on the further operationalization of the monitoring framework for the post-2020 GBF.

The recognition of the role of the national statistical offices in developing and implementing the framework, as well as the role of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) as an important statistical framework in support of the monitoring framework and the indicators therein, provides a unique opportunity for the official statistical community to help shape the monitoring framework and develop nationally owned statistical information which is mainstreamed within the national statistical system. Effort has already been made to align the proposed headline indicators in the monitoring framework for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework with the statistical frameworks developed under the Commission, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the SEEA.

This high-level side event will provide a platform for policymakers, official statisticians, relevant stakeholders from CBD Parties, researchers, and compilers of accounts, statistics and indicators on ecosystem and biodiversity together to discuss the cutting-edge issues on data and statistics for biodiversity and the role of the national statistical agencies on biodiversity monitoring. Participants are being invited to contribute to the high-level dialogue on the way forward in mainstreaming biodiversity in the national statistics system to support and strengthen the national monitoring system and reporting of the GBF monitoring framework