From commitments to delivery

CoP17 will conduct the first Global Review under the CoP16 planning, monitoring, reporting and review decision. The Party-driven process is facilitative, non-intrusive and non-punitive. SBSTTA-28 and SBI-7 considered the global report, seventh national reports and updated NBSAPs.

Progress is stronger on conservation targets than on resource mobilisation, subsidy reform and inclusive governance. Persistent indicator gaps for Targets 5 and 9 weaken the Review’s ability to track and correct implementation.

TRAFFIC urges Parties to agree resourced measures that accelerate NBSAP finalisation and national reporting, resolve identified funding bottlenecks and establish clear biodiversity-finance pathways for wild species trade and enforcement.

Important evidence gaps include terrestrial wildlife use and trade, illegal and online trade, zoonotic risk and the social and economic benefits of sustainable use.

The GEF-funded IN-WILD project, led by IUCN through a nine-member consortium including TRAFFIC, is developing policy-relevant indicators and methods using sources such as online wildlife trade data.

Harmonised approaches across CBD, CITES and CMS can reduce duplicate reporting and improve understanding of cross-convention trends. TRAFFIC can support indicator development, data systems and analytical tools through IN-WILD and related partnerships.

At CoP16, Parties asked the Executive Secretary and the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management, particularly the CMS and CITES Secretariats, to develop voluntary global guidance covering species and management practices.

The gap analysis identified needs in private-sector supply-chain disclosure, One Health integration, transboundary cooperation and predictable finance. These gaps affect visibility of overexploitation risk, zoonotic spillover risk and management of shared populations.

CoP17 should pair adoption with a clear, funded pathway for national uptake. TRAFFIC can support evidence development and implementation through its regional presence, Target 9 indicator work and role in the CPW.

The first Global Review found that marine and coastal ecosystems receive less attention than terrestrial systems. Many reported marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures do not yet meet all Target 3 quality requirements.

The BBNJ Agreement entered into force on 17 January 2026. SBSTTA-28 proposed extending the EBSA Informal Advisory Group and creating a group to align CBD work with BBNJ. CoP17 must establish a clear, non-duplicative interface.

Illegal and unsustainable harvest for international trade drives declines in sharks and rays, sea cucumbers, seahorses, corals and other traded marine taxa. TRAFFIC’s legal-sourcing, market-monitoring, enforcement and traceability tools apply directly to these supply chains.

Commercially important roots, mushrooms, lichens and other species face overharvesting and unsustainable trade but receive far less attention than terrestrial fauna.

SBSTTA-28 recommendation 28/4 brings wild plants, fungi and algae within sustainable wildlife management guidance alongside fishing, logging and animal harvesting.

Wild plants and fungi entering commercial supply chains require the same science-based harvest assessments, legality and sustainability safeguards, traceability and market monitoring applied to fauna.

The IPBES Plenary approved its first business and biodiversity assessment in February 2026. It identifies biodiversity loss as a systemic economic and financial risk and highlights persistent gaps in knowledge, monitoring and indicators.

Target 15 implementation, TNFD and ISSB alignment and due-diligence instruments offer an architecture for capturing environmental crime and illegal wildlife trade as enterprise risks.

Reusing species-dependency and sourcing-risk data across corporate assessments, national reporting and Target 19 resource mobilisation can direct finance towards community-based sustainable-use enterprises and connect business data with the Global Review.

SBC approaches diagnose motivations and barriers, identify who must act differently and design interventions that make biodiversity-positive choices easier and socially reinforced.

Behavioural insight supports legal and sustainable use and trade under Targets 5 and 9 and demand reduction and responsible consumption under Target 16.

Relevant tools include audience research, segmentation, social norms, trusted messengers, incentives, rules, feedback and monitoring. SBC aligns CBD delivery with approaches used across GEF strategies, CITES demand-reduction work, CMS analysis and Conservation Standards practice.

Decision 16/35 calls for stronger cooperation among biodiversity-related conventions while respecting mandates and ensuring effective participation by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, women and youth.

CITES is aligning its Strategic Vision 2021–2030 with the KMGBF. CMS Decision 14.6 calls for migratory species needs to be integrated into NBSAPs and national targets.

CoP17 should commit to harmonised indicators so one national data-collection effort can support multiple reporting obligations. Whole-of-society and human rights-based approaches should be embedded across resource mobilisation, review and monitoring.