The 27th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-27) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD) that convened in Panama City on 20- 24 October 2025, brought together biodiversity experts, government delegates and stakeholders to deliver science-based guidance for advancing the global biodiversity goals outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). This year’s session concentrated on accelerating implementation of the framework's objectives focusing on cross-sectoral integration, climate-biodiversity synergies, invasive alien species, biodiversity and health, as well as the scientific and technical needs to support the KMGBF.
As part of the continued efforts of the CO-OP4CBD project to enhance the cooperation for integrating UN CBD processes into national and regional efforts, the project hosted a special collaborative side event together with Biodiversa+.
Side Event: Enhancing the Role of Knowledge Holders in UN CBD: Pioneering Capacity-building Initiatives Across the World
Date: 24 October 2025, 13:15 GMT-5
This session explored the key role of scientists and knowledge holders in the UN CBD process and the improvement of the science-policy interface. Experts from all over the world presented various capacity-building initiatives, shared perspectives on the regional TSC centers from Europe, Africa, Asia and South America and participated in an open discussion with the audience.
The session also included the perspective of the Republic of Armenia, with the country’s Deputy Minister of Environment, His Excellency Mr. Aram Meymaryan, whose introduction speech emphasised Armenia's commitment to ensuring a strong scientific presence at the next UN CBD COP, which the country will host in October 2026.
During the event, a sneak peak of the upcoming CO-OP4CBD-Biodiversa+ guide on UN CBD processes was provided. This guide, designed as a toolkit, aims to support the participation of scientists and knowledge holders in UN CBD processes. Currently being developed, the preview document of the guide is currently available for review and feedback:
With the side event sparking interest into the workings of experts in pursuit of the achievement of the KMGBF biodiversity targets, the session organisers marked the importance of the continued collaboration between different initiatives and projects in the field of the science-policy interface for biodiversity.
“This event highlighted the necessity of science, and more broadly, the involvement of all knowledge processes in the UN CBD and the strong commitment of scientific communities to contribute to the implementation of KM-GBF. We now have powerful tools at our disposal, with the support of regional technical and scientific cooperation centres and a network of long-standing stakeholders”, said Pierre Spielewoy, session organiser on the side of CO-OP4CBD.