Africa: Guterres Urges Faster Action and Financing to Stop Biodiversity Loss

What the report says

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on governments, businesses and communities to speed up action to protect biodiversity, speaking in Yerevan, Armenia, ahead of next week’s COP17 UN biodiversity conference. According to UN News, he told a Leaders’ Summit that biodiversity underpins food, water and air, and warned that climate disruption, overgrazing and the heavy use of fertilisers and pesticides are worsening the wider crisis of pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change.

Guterres said existing efforts are not keeping pace with the scale of the problem. He pointed to progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including the adoption of national targets by most parties and expanded protection for land and ocean areas, but said the overall pace remains too slow. He noted that current commitments would still leave the world short of the goal to conserve 30% of land and sea by 2030.

The UN chief also highlighted major financing gaps, saying biodiversity funding is far below the level agreed by governments. He urged countries to redirect spending away from activities that harm nature and toward solutions such as sustainable farming, circular economies, stronger enforcement and better monitoring. He also called on the private sector to help pay for conservation, including through the UN-backed Cali Fund.

The appeal came as the Yerevan Declaration was adopted at the summit, with a pledge to better integrate biodiversity into policy and budgeting. In broad terms, the message reflects a growing push within global environmental diplomacy to link nature protection with climate action, food security and development, especially in countries facing debt and limited fiscal space.