Connecting Canada's 2030 Nature Strategy to the Global Biodiversity Framework

A closer look at the goals and targets in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and their implementation through Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy.

A brief explanation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is an international agreement adopted in 2022 by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (including Canada) to guide global efforts to protect and restore biodiversity through 2030. It sets out 23 targets and four overarching goals, aiming to halt biodiversity loss, promote ecosystem restoration, ensure sustainable use of natural resources, and enhance the equitable sharing of benefits from biodiversity, especially for Indigenous Peoples. It replaced the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, which guided conservation efforts between 2010 and 2020.

The goals and targets of the KMGBF are purposively (and appropriately) designed to work as an integrated whole, reflecting the same principle of indivisibility embodied in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In this vein, Section C of the framework, as part of preambulatory text (“Considerations for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework”) includes a set of umbrella themes that are relevant for understanding purpose, implementation, monitoring and reporting of all goals and targets.

It underscores the critical roles and contributions of Indigenous Peoples as biodiversity stewards and conservation partners, recognizing their rights under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other global agreements. It embraces diverse value systems and adopts a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach, integrating gender equality, human rights, intergenerational equity, and the connections between biodiversity and health. It also recognizes that each country will make contributions in line with its specific national conditions, priorities, and capacities.

The CBD Secretariat has a dedicated website on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including explanations of each of the goals and targets and interlinkages between them.

• Goal A: The integrity, connectivity and resilience of all ecosystems...

  Human induced extinction of known threatened species is halted, and, by 2050, the extinction rate and risk of all species are reduced tenfold and the abundance of native wild species is increased to healthy and resilient levels; The genetic diversity within populations of wild and domesticated species, is maintained, safeguarding their adaptive potential.

  
  Goal A embraces all three elements of biodiversity: ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity. Ecosystems and genetic diversity receive considerably stronger emphasis in the GBF than they did in the Aichi targets.

  For ecosystems, the focus on connectivity, integrity, and resilience was a significant outcome, marking a shift from the more limited scope of the previous Aichi targets. Integrity and connectivity are essential foundations for resilience. The language of this goal suggests that substantial net increases in the global extent, connectivity, and integrity of natural ecosystems are required to achieve the 2050 vision. Moreover, it highlights the vital roles of existing natural ecosystems. While ecosystem restoration will be necessary due to past losses, priority should be placed on preserving existing natural ecosystems, as prevention will help avoid the substantial costs associated with further loss.

  For species, the GBF’s emphasis on both "extinction" and "extinction risk" encourages proactive measures to prevent species loss while recovery is still achievable. A key concept is to aim for maintaining species populations at healthy and resilient levels, rather than merely settling for avoided extinction.

  Respecting genetic diversity, the Aichi Targets focused narrowly on the value of maintaining genetic diversity to serve human needs, such as diversity in food crops or livestock. The KMGBF is much broader and recognizes the importance of maintaining genetic diversity for wild species to enhance reproduction and survival rates of individual organisms, reduce vulnerability to climate change, and lower risk of species’ extinctions.
  
  

  Significance for Canada

  
  Canada’s efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss must address all three elements of biodiversity, applying tailored approaches suited to the unique conditions of different regions across the country.

  Ecosystems: Due to its vast size, Canada boasts a high diversity of ecosystems, including many that are unique and/or highly threatened. The condition of these ecosystems varies significantly, from highly fragmented to some of the most intact globally, with varying levels of connectivity, integrity, and resilience. Effective conservation and restoration efforts will depend on better data about the classification and conservation status of ecosystems across the country. However, this need for improved information should not postpone immediate action.

  Species: Canada needs to apply this lens to its own efforts to sustain species to ensure we stop the growth in the number of species at risk of extinction while ensuring other species do not fall into the “at risk” category (e.g., Special Concern).

  Genetic diversity: Genetic diversity was not even mentioned in the 2020 Biodiversity Goals and Targets for Canada and should certainly receive attention this time.

• Goal B: Biodiversity is sustainably used and managed...

  Goal B: Biodiversity is sustainably used and managed and nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, are valued, maintained and enhanced, with those currently in decline being restored, supporting the achievement of sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations by 2050.

  
  Goal B focuses on the sustainable use and management of nature’s contributions to people. Canada’s success in achieving this goal will heavily depend on maintaining healthy wild species and ecosystems (as noted above). Additionally, it will require a substantial commitment to using resources sustainably and ensuring their equitable distribution, including across generations.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  As a natural resource driven economy and agricultural powerhouse, pursuing Goal B actions must be central to any Canadian biodiversity strategy. Aligning this goal with Goal A will require a whole-of-government approach to effectively integrate biodiversity considerations into extractive industries and ensure sustainable practices are prioritized.

• Goal C: The monetary and non-monetary benefits from the utilization of genetic resources...

  Goal C: The monetary and non-monetary benefits from the utilization of genetic resources, and digital sequence information on genetic resources, and of traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, as applicable, are shared fairly and equitably, including, as appropriate with indigenous peoples and local communities, and substantially increased by 2050, while ensuring traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources is appropriately protected, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, in accordance with internationally agreed access and benefit-sharing instruments.

  
  Goal C focuses on ensuring the fair and equitable sharing of wealth derived from genetic information, in line with the third objective of the CBD, aims to correct historical injustices relating to the ownership and control of genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and biotechnological innovation. Genetic sequencing has transformed biological sciences, leading to significant advances in health, agriculture, and environmental sustainability, yet the benefits have not been equally shared, especially with Indigenous peoples. Digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources is a key component of the KMGBF, providing global access to genetic data for research, conservation, and sustainable use. DSI enables the study of species and ecosystems, fostering innovative solutions for biodiversity preservation while promoting international collaboration and equitable benefit-sharing.

  Four UN fora -- UNEP, FAO, WHO and the General Assembly– are currently hosting negotiations of new rules to increase benefit sharing from the use of DSI, underscoring the importance of coordination. Within the CBD, progress is being made on operationalizing an agreement on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of DSI on genetic resources following negotiations in Montreal in August 2024.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  Genetic resources underpin the country’s biodiversity, agriculture, and natural resource sectors, which are vital to the economy and environmental sustainability. These resources contribute to food security, medical research, and the development of new technologies that support climate resilience and conservation efforts. Additionally, Canada’s rich genetic diversity is essential for maintaining healthy ecosystems, supporting wildlife, and enabling innovation in fields like biotechnology.

  Genetic resources are particularly important for Indigenous Peoples in Canada because it can impact their rights to control and benefit from the use of genetic resources found on their traditional lands. Access to DSI must be managed in a way that respects Indigenous knowledge systems, preserves cultural heritage, and ensures fair benefit-sharing from any scientific or commercial use. Additionally, Indigenous peoples play a crucial role as stewards of biodiversity, and their involvement in managing DSI can help safeguard ecosystems and species that are culturally significant to their communities.

• Goal D: Adequate means of implementation...

  Goal D: Adequate means of implementation, including financial resources, capacity-building, technical and scientific cooperation, and access to and transfer of technology to fully implement the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework are secured and equitably accessible to all Parties, especially developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, progressively closing the biodiversity finance gap of 700 billion dollars per year, and aligning financial flows with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.

  
  Goal D aims to make the resources needed to implement the GBF accessible, effectively mobilized, and fairly distributed. These resources include financial, technical, informational, and capacity-building elements, all crucial for overcoming barriers to addressing biodiversity threats and achieving the framework’s goals and targets. Bridging the gap between the capacities of wealthier nations and those with fewer resources is especially important. By advocating for increased funding, equitable benefit-sharing, and international collaboration, Goal D seeks to provide all countries, particularly developing nations and Indigenous communities, with the tools to meet biodiversity targets. Although protecting and restoring global biodiversity benefits everyone, "resource mobilization" was one of the most contentious issues during the KMGBF negotiations, highlighting the need for countries to agree on providing the necessary support for successful implementation.
  
  

  Significance for Canada

  
  Within Canada, much of the responsibility for biodiversity conservation falls under the jurisdiction of provinces and territories, which often have less funding and capacity compared to the federal government. The distribution of resources across these regions is uneven, with remote, northern, and Indigenous areas facing significant challenges. Bridging these resource and capacity gaps is essential for Canada to effectively meet biodiversity targets and ensure that all regions can contribute to conservation efforts, regardless of their resource availability.

  As a member of the G7 and the OECD, Canada has pledged to support global development and biodiversity conservation, particularly in developing nations, through financial contributions and capacity-building efforts. Additionally, Canada's leadership role in promoting human rights, environmental sustainability, and global equity further strengthens its obligation to provide assistance through ODA.

• Target 1: Ensure that all areas are under participatory integrated biodiversity...

  Target 1: Ensure that all areas are under participatory integrated biodiversity inclusive spatial planning and/or effective management processes addressing land and sea use change, to bring the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity, close to zero by 2030, while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.

  
  Target 1 acknowledges that land-use and sea-use changes, such as deforestation, along with the loss or fragmentation of wetlands, forests, grasslands, marine and freshwater habitats, and other ecosystems, are major drivers of biodiversity loss. The target calls for “participatory, biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning” to manage competing demands on land and sea areas and address potential trade-offs to areas important for biodiversity. Its significance lies in tackling the root causes of biodiversity decline—particularly habitat destruction—by requiring countries to adopt integrated approaches to land and sea use that incorporate biodiversity conservation across all sectors. This comprehensive planning is essential for achieving long-term conservation and sustainability goals. Progress on this target will require addressing both developed and degraded ecosystems, as well as conserving intact ecosystems with high ecological integrity. Additionally, it recognizes that effective biodiversity management cannot be addressed in a piecemeal manner, but requires proactive planning at appropriate scales, while respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

  To illustrate the inter-relationship between targets, actions related to this target would need to be complemented by restoration (T2), protection of specific areas with high biodiversity value (T3), and by measures to reduce the other direct (T 4-8) and indirect drivers (T 13-20) of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.
  
  

  Significance for Canada

  
  Many areas in Canada currently lack comprehensive spatial planning, and no common standard exists. Even where formal land-use planning is taking place, many of these processes may not meet the criteria for being “biodiversity-inclusive” or adequately address land and sea-use change, nor do they always respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The best examples of spatial planning are in northern Canada, where Indigenous Peoples co-lead these efforts as mandated by modern land claims. These models of participatory, integrated spatial planning, led or co-led by Indigenous communities, can serve as valuable examples.

  For Canada, this target is particularly relevant in regions where cumulative environmental effects are becoming more pronounced, such as through intensifying and expanding human settlement and agriculture in the south or resource extraction in the north, where piecemeal, project-level decision-making is common. A regional-scale approach is needed for proper, proactive assessments that enhance protection, connectivity, and development opportunities.

  With Canada holding a disproportionate share of the world’s remaining high-integrity ecosystems, much more effort is required to meet the target of reducing the loss of these ecosystems to near zero by 2030.

  The implementation of Target 1 in Canada would be well served by prioritizing Indigenous-led conservation and land-use planning. Equitable planning processes should not only respect Indigenous rights but also ensure the meaningful, sustained, and visible inclusion of Indigenous Peoples as active participants and beneficiaries in planning processes.

  
  Target 1 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Canada acknowledges its critical role in conserving ecosystems of high ecological integrity on a global scale, while recognizing the significant regional differences in spatial planning across the country, including areas where such planning is currently nonexistent. Canada also accepts that achieving this target will require completing, improving, and initiating spatial planning efforts, which it commits to on federal lands, alongside finalizing the identification of areas important for biodiversity, such as Key Biodiversity Areas, a process that has been underway for several years.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will be crucial to completing this work across Canada and developing pan-Canadian guidance and leadership to support biodiversity integration in spatial planning and maintain ecological integrity, which involves protecting ecosystem connectivity, preventing habitat fragmentation, and helping to ensure that natural areas remain resilient to environmental pressures and human activities.

• Target 2: Ensure that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of areas...

  Target 2: Ensure that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity.

  
  Target 2, which focuses on the restoration of degraded ecosystems, sets an ambitious and measurable global goal, marking increased ambition compared to the Aichi Targets. It recognizes that reversing ecosystem degradation is essential for biodiversity recovery, climate resilience, and the maintenance of vital ecosystem services such as water purification, carbon storage, and food security. Notably, the target emphasizes that restoration efforts should enhance ecological integrity and connectivity within and among ecosystems, both of which are crucial for sustaining healthy, resilient, and diverse ecosystems.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  Despite the extent of high-integrity ecosystems in Canada, many ecosystems outside of northern regions have been degraded due to resource extraction, urbanization, and climate change. This target aligns with Canada’s commitment to Indigenous-led conservation, as many restoration projects take place on traditional lands. Achieving Target 2 would not only contribute to global biodiversity goals but also strengthen local economies, enhance ecosystem services, and promote long-term environmental sustainability across the country.

  
  Target 2 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Canada acknowledges the extent of degradation of many natural areas, and the benefits to be gained from a focus on restoration. As part of the global Bonn Challenge, Canada is among 60 countries that have committed to bring at least 19 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes into restoration by 2030 within Canada. It admits to the lack of definition for “effective restoration” and lack of coordination of efforts across the county. In collaboration with other federal departments, Canada has pledged to advance research and development of best practices and innovative techniques for remediation and restoration. This commitment also includes evaluating the effectiveness of restoration efforts and fostering collaboration and information sharing.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will be essential to define "degraded areas" and "effective restoration" with a high standard for success, establish a terrestrial and aquatic baseline for the target, assess priority restoration areas, and facilitate progress reporting.

• Target 3: Ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial and inland water...

  Target 3: Ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, recognizing indigenous and traditional territories, where applicable, and integrated into wider landscapes, seascapes and the ocean, while ensuring that any sustainable use, where appropriate in such areas, is fully consistent with conservation outcomes, recognizing and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, including over their traditional territories.

  
  Target 3 represents a significant increase in ambition compared to the Aichi Targets, raising the goal from 17% to 30% and becoming the most well-known of the 23 targets (often referred to as "30x30"). The target emphasizes the use of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), which are already well-defined internationally and in Canada, as key tools to achieve this 30% goal. To ensure these areas effectively maintain biodiversity and ecosystem health, they must be well-connected, ecologically representative, and equitably managed. This target addresses the urgent need to halt habitat loss, protect biodiversity, and strengthen ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change.

  Furthermore, the agreement provides stronger recognition of the essential role Indigenous Peoples play in biodiversity conservation, both through safeguarding their rights and by recognizing Indigenous and traditional territories as vital contributors to conservation efforts.

  Lastly, the language around sustainable use—an important negotiation point in the KMGBF—carefully balances the need to ensure that any use within protected areas and OECMs aligns with biodiversity conservation goals and remains appropriate within these areas.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  Canada had already committed to the 30x30 objective well before COP15, and participated as a member of the High-Ambition Coalition. This target presents a critical opportunity for Canada to lead on a global scale. Despite existing commitments, many of Canada’s most ecologically important areas—including high-integrity and rare ecosystems, Key Biodiversity Areas, peatlands, and culturally significant landscapes—remain underrepresented in current protected areas. By prioritizing these areas for conservation, Target 3 can help safeguard essential ecosystem functions such as carbon storage, water regulation, and biodiversity support, while also enhancing connectivity between these ecosystems. Achieving this target is particularly significant for Canada’s role in Indigenous-led conservation.

  
  Target 3 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Canada expresses a strong commitment to global leadership in implementing Target 3 and highlights the tangible progress made, with significant conservation gains driven by the Indigenous-led initiatives it has supported. Canada also claims progress as one of the first countries to pilot a program for identifying terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and integrating them into land-use planning. However, it acknowledges that achieving Target 3 will require extensive collaboration, given that the federal government manages only 6% of the country’s land and freshwater, with the majority under provincial, territorial, municipal, Indigenous, and private ownership.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will be essential to sustain the momentum and capitalize on the opportunities for Indigenous-led conservation efforts required to meet Target 3, including long-term stewardship programs like Indigenous Guardians.

• Target 4: Ensure urgent management actions to halt human induced extinction...

  Target 4: Ensure urgent management actions to halt human induced extinction of known threatened species and for the recovery and conservation of species, in particular threatened species, to significantly reduce extinction risk, as well as to maintain and restore the genetic diversity within and between populations of native, wild and domesticated species to maintain their adaptive potential, including through in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable management practices, and effectively manage human-wildlife interactions to minimize human-wildlife conflict for coexistence.

  
  Target 4 builds on the ambition of Goal A by setting the stage for action to halt human-induced extinction (especially for threatened species) restore genetic diversity, maintain species’ adaptive potential, and minimize human-wildlife conflict -- all essential for halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 and putting nature on a path to recovery.

  This target recognizes the importance of reducing threats to wildlife, both intentional (e.g., reprisals against large land mammals that may damage crops or threaten human life or livestock) and unintentional (e.g., competing demands for the use of ecosystems and other resources, roadkill and marine by-catch).

  Genetic diversity is the foundation of species’ ability to adapt and a key component of ecosystem function and resilience. Expected genetic diversity loss due to decreased population sizes and lost habitat are also severe threats to biodiversity.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  While many species will benefit from broader actions under other targets (such as conservation planning [T1], area-based protection [T3] and restoration [T2]), this target specifically addresses species that need focused, species-specific recovery efforts. These include actions such as genetic management, population supplementation, breeding programs, and genetic rescue, all critical for species at risk in Canada that require urgent and targeted actions and attention.

  Additionally, this target is relevant to addressing human-wildlife conflict, a serious issue in many areas of Canada where human activities intersect with natural habitats, particularly around protected areas, agricultural regions, and areas of human settlement and activity. This target also aligns with the need for conflict mitigation strategies in areas prone to wildlife-vehicle collisions and where recreational and tourism activities bring humans into closer contact with wildlife.

  Target 4 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Approximately 20% of Canada’s 80,000 species are at some risk of extirpation or extinction, and for many others, data are lacking to accurately assess their status. Despite notable progress in completing overdue recovery strategies and management plans over the past 10 years, further improvements are needed in tracking, planning, and reporting on the recovery of species listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), as well as in the protection of their critical habitats. The overall trends are concerning, with more species being added to the list than removed, and many species at risk (SAR) populations continuing to decline, although it is noted that the positive effects of recovery and conservation efforts often take considerable time to manifest. To meet Target 4, Canada has committed to improving the planning and implementation of SAR recovery and restoration actions, strengthening law enforcement under SARA, enhancing information sharing, and advancing a multi-species, ecosystem-based approach, and continued efforts in human-wildlife coexistence programming.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will be essential to improving the transparency and implementation efficiency of the SARA program, while also enhancing the delivery of its obligations through multi-species stewardship approaches. New funding will also be essential for advancing wildlife health initiatives within a One Health framework, achieved through national and international coordination and policy development. This includes implementing the Pan-Canadian Approach to Wildlife Health to address pressing wildlife health issues, particularly those affecting species at risk (SAR) and migratory birds.

• Target 5: Ensure that the use, harvesting and trade of wild species...

  Target 5: Ensure that the use, harvesting and trade of wild species is sustainable, safe and legal, preventing overexploitation, minimizing impacts on non-target species and ecosystems, and reducing the risk of pathogen spill-over, applying the ecosystem approach, while respecting and protecting customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.

  
  Target 5 focuses on the direct exploitation of wild populations of species, which is the largest driver of biodiversity loss in marine ecosystems and the second largest in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems globally. Overexploitation refers to the deliberate and/or unintentional harvesting, hunting, fishing, and trade of biological resources (flora and fauna) at unsustainable levels. The target aims to ensure that the use of wild species is sustainable, legal, and safe, while minimizing threats to the survival of species and ecosystems. By addressing impacts on non-target species, the target also tackles the issue of bycatch, a major factor in the decline of many marine and freshwater species.

  Beyond overexploitation, Target 5 now incorporates concerns about the risk of impacts on non-target species and ecosystems, as well as the risk of pathogen spillover associated with wildlife trade. This is especially important given that wildlife trade can facilitate the transmission of diseases between species, including humans, a concern amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the preamble of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework references "health" multiple times, this target is the only one to explicitly mention health-related risks, specifically pathogen spillover. This broadens the target’s scope to include both public and ecological health, underscoring the interconnectedness of biodiversity conservation and human well-being.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  Canada has vast natural resources, including fisheries, forests, and wildlife that are subject to hunting, fishing and trade. Ensuring that these resources are managed sustainably is critical not only for biodiversity conservation but also for the economic well-being of communities where livelihoods depend on the responsible use of natural resources. In Canada, overexploitation through both direct and indirect (bycatch) means is very important as a threat. For marine species, overexploitation is the most significant threat.

  Canada does play a role in global wildlife trade through the import and export of animals. Unsustainable trade can and does lead to wildlife declines, and while Canada is a small player relative to other countries at a global scale, its participation does need to be addressed in the broader sustainability context. This includes, for example, the elephant ivory trade.

  Pathogen spillover associated with wildlife trade in particular is not likely to occur within Canada, but as we have seen with COVID-19, Canada will bear the consequences of outbreaks in other places and should therefore support efforts (e.g., the development of an international pandemic instrument) that focus on prevention of pandemics at source.

  Target 5 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  Canada acknowledges overexploitation of wild species to be the largest driver in marine ecosystems, and the second largest (behind habitat loss) in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. It claims a leadership role in the implementation of as a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and the long-established principles for sustainable use and harvest of terrestrial wildlife in Canada has been guided by established

  principles for hunting and trapping regulations for decades, with secure status of many hunted species, e.g., waterfowl, with more progress needed on marine species, where almost half the key stocks below target level.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond would accelerate the development of reference points and other components of the precautionary approach framework for all key fish stocks and expand implementation of the ecosystem-based fisheries management to promote healthy ecosystems, sustainable fisheries, and economic prosperity in the fishing industry; enhance efforts to reduce the risk of pathogen spillover and impacts to non-target species through a multi-sectoral approach to wildlife health threats under One Health initiatives and the Pan-Canadian Approach to Wildlife Health, and deploy modern digital technology to curb illegal wildlife trade at Canada's borders.

• Target 6: Eliminate, minimize, reduce and or mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species...

  Target 6: Eliminate, minimize, reduce and or mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species on biodiversity and ecosystem services by identifying and managing pathways of the introduction of alien species, preventing the introduction and establishment of priority invasive alien species, reducing the rates of introduction and establishment of other known or potential invasive alien species by at least 50 per cent by 2030, and eradicating or controlling invasive alien species especially in priority sites, such as islands.

  
  Target 6 focuses on eliminating or significantly reducing the impact of invasive alien species (IAS) on biodiversity and ecosystems -- a major driver of biodiversity loss worldwide, often outcompeting native species, disrupting ecosystems, and causing economic damage. It aims to prevent, reduce, or control the introduction and spread of these species by 2030, particularly in sensitive ecosystems like islands. It also seeks to strengthen biosecurity measures, restoration efforts, and public awareness to tackle this threat and protect biodiversity, agriculture, and natural ecosystems.

  Some invasive alien species are also agents of infectious disease for wildlife, e.g., Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, the causal agent of chytrid fungal disease and spread mainly through trade in amphibians, and Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus causing white-nose syndrome in North American bats. A changing climate will exacerbate this threat in many circumstances.

  Significance for Canada

  
  IAS like zebra mussels, Asian carp, and many alien plants pose significant threats to native biodiversity, agriculture, and fisheries. Many habitats are vulnerable to the impacts of invasive species, which can cause ecological disruption and economic damage, particularly in sectors like forestry, fisheries, and agriculture. Given Canada's role as a trading nation with extensive coastlines and borders, preventing the introduction and spread of invasive species requires strong biosecurity measures, cross-border collaboration, and effective management strategies. Most provinces have initiatives (e.g., Invasive Species Councils or inter-ministerial working groups) devoted to invasive species management, but only Ontario and BC have legislation or regulation focused on invasive species with the primary objective of biodiversity conservation (as opposed to protecting agriculture or forestry, e.g., weed control acts). There are many effective local programs occurring across Canada—the challenge is to scale these up.

  Target 6 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Canada expresses concerns about the significant threat IAS pose to 42 federally listed species at risk, and highlights not only their impact on species and ecosystems but also the considerable damage they cause to nature’s contributions to people, resulting in enormous costs to manage even single IAS within the country. Despite significant actions and localized positive outcomes, overall trends indicate an increase in the presence and impact of IAS, underscoring the need for better coordination at national and regional levels. In the Nature Strategy, Canada commits to working with provinces and territories to update the 2004 IAS Strategy and clarify roles and responsibilities for managing IAS and address any legislative or policy gaps hindering coordinated prevention, management, and rapid response efforts. Additionally, Canada will integrate IAS considerations into climate change modelling and restoration efforts, increase knowledge of IAS impacts through economic analysis, and engage Canadians and Indigenous Peoples in actions to prevent and control IAS.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond would allow for the development and deployment of new IAS detection and control options, and use modern digital technology to improve border efficiency, intercept invasive species in trade, and provide import data for risk assessment, monitoring, and traceability.

• Target 7: Reduce pollution risks and the negative impact of pollution...

  Target 7: Reduce pollution risks and the negative impact of pollution from all sources, by 2030, to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, considering cumulative effects, including: reducing excess nutrients lost to the environment by at least half including through more efficient nutrient cycling and use; reducing the overall risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half including through integrated pest management, based on science, taking into account food security and livelihoods; and also preventing, reducing, and working towards eliminating plastic pollution.

  
  Target 7 addresses the significant impact of pollution as a major driver of global biodiversity decline, with persistent and cumulative impacts on ecosystems, wildlife, and human health. While pollution is often thought of as chemical pollutants, the GBF deliberately references 'all sources of pollution.' This encompasses air pollution from vehicle emissions and industrial activities, water pollution from excess nutrients, pesticides, hazardous chemicals, and untreated sewage, soil pollution from agricultural runoff and hazardous waste, plastic pollution, noise pollution from urbanization and transportation (including shipping), light pollution, and thermal pollution from industrial processes and power plants. Each pollution source will likely require its own specific indicator to ensure effective and targeted action.

  A notable shift in the final KMGBF text is the move from reducing the use of harmful substances to reducing the risks associated with them. Rather than focusing solely on cutting the usage of pesticides and chemicals, the agreement emphasizes managing their risks. This target has broad implications for food security, climate mitigation, and fertilizer use, and is closely tied to ongoing discussions on the development of the Global Plastics Treaty.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  Canada faces pollution challenges from various sectors, including agriculture, industry, and transportation, which contribute to issues such as excess nutrient runoff, pesticide use, and plastic waste. Overall, this continues to threaten species, including those already at risk, and degrades vital ecosystems such as wetlands, forests, rivers, and coastal areas. For example, nutrient runoff from agriculture affects freshwater ecosystems, contributing to algal blooms, while industrial and transportation emissions contribute to air, noise and water pollution. Pollution also negatively impacts human health, with strong evidence linking certain pollutants to premature deaths, and disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. Most efforts in Canada, including the revised Canadian Environmental Protection Act, are focused on the human impacts of pollutants, whereas impacts on biodiversity are dealt with through more piecemeal efforts. The issue of excess nutrients entering waterbodies is well known in places like Lake Erie, Lake Winnipeg and Lake Simcoe and points to the need to expand and scale-up nutrient management programs.

  
  Target 7 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Concern is expressed that managing pollution’s negative impacts on biodiversity in Canada is an increasingly important and complex challenge as consumption grows, and cumulative impacts from various human activities and climate change continue to intensify. Canada is taking several key actions that include working to reduce nutrient and chemical pollution, promoting sustainable practices in agriculture, expanding pollution monitoring and control, and improving public engagement. Canada is also focusing on improving regulatory frameworks, collaborating with provinces, territories, and Indigenous communities, and developing new technologies to reduce the environmental impacts of pollution. Canada aims to play a leadership role in negotiating an ambitious, legally binding international agreement to end plastic pollution, finalize and implement a federal Ocean Noise Strategy, and enforce prohibitions on disposal at sea.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond would enable greater focus on amending regulations to ensure pesticide risk assessments account for cumulative impacts, particularly on species at risk, while requiring companies to provide all available data on these effects. It would also support new research and monitoring to inform science-based decisions on pesticides and chemicals and enhance understanding of hazardous contaminants in aquifers.

• Target 8: Minimize the impact of climate change and ocean acidification...

  Target 8: Minimize the impact of climate change and ocean acidification on biodiversity and increase its resilience through mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction actions, including through nature-based solution and/or ecosystem-based approaches, while minimizing negative and fostering positive impacts of climate action on biodiversity.

  
  Target 8 focuses on addressing climate change as a driver of biodiversity loss and enhancing the role of ecosystems in climate adaptation and mitigation. The interconnections between the biodiversity and climate crises are increasingly evident on a global scale. The KMGBF recognizes climate change as a key direct threat to nature, with indirect impacts also arising from certain actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is intensifying other threats, such as land use change, further increasing its importance for species and ecosystems. The target underscores the critical role of healthy ecosystems—like forests, wetlands, grasslands, and oceans—in regulating the climate, reducing emissions, and supporting species’ resilience to climate impacts.

  The inclusion of "Nature-based solutions" in the target encourages better coordination of international efforts to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss simultaneously. However, developing countries were unable to embed the principle of "common but differentiated responsibility," which acknowledges varying contributions to global challenges and has been central to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

  This target calls for minimizing negative impacts and fostering positive outcomes for biodiversity through climate action, emphasizing the need to understand both synergies and trade-offs. It promotes nature-based solutions, such as ecosystem restoration and protection, which are essential for enhancing carbon storage, building ecosystem resilience, and safeguarding species and habitats that are most vulnerable to climate change.

  Although “climate change” is explicitly mentioned in only a few places in the KMGBF, multiple targets are relevant to the biodiversity-climate nexus. Accordingly, their implementation in a whole-of-government approach can facilitate intentional and coordinated consideration to maximizing co-benefits and developing a comprehensive understanding of trade-offs. For example, Target 8 works together with Target 11, which focuses on nature’s contributions to people, including climate regulation. In addition, targets that focus on spatial planning (Target 1) and protection (Target 3) will be beneficial for addressing climate change, particularly if high-integrity carbon-rich ecosystems are a key focus. Restoration of ecosystems (Target 2) and creation of green infrastructure in urban environments (Target 12) can be intentionally carried out to ensure co-benefits for both biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Increasing the integration of biodiversity considerations in production systems, through management practices that reinforce biodiversity, can greatly improve the ability of these ecosystems and people to adapt to climate change (Target 10). The KMGBF also calls for “optimizing co-benefits and synergies of finance targeting the biodiversity and climate crises” (Target 19).

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  As a country with vast natural landscapes characterized by high ecological integrity, this target is crucial in mitigating climate risks while simultaneously conserving and restoring ecosystems that contribute to both national and global climate goals. Implementing Target 8 not only supports climate adaptation and resilience but also contributes to long-term biodiversity protection and human well-being.

  Canada holds significant responsibility for high-carbon ecosystems, particularly those with irrecoverable carbon (e.g., peatlands, for which Canada has 25% global responsibility) that we cannot afford to lose or be degraded if we want to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. These are largely ill-protected by existing policies.

  When there are synergies or co-benefits -- e.g., protection of carbon-rich areas intersecting with important areas for biodiversity – positive outcomes for addressing both challenges are more likely. Without coordinated attention, however, the opposite can occur, with persistent harms to biodiversity and sustained provisioning of nature’s contributions to people: for example, through direct mortality (e.g., to bats and birds from wind turbines or fish through hydropower turbines), and the loss and degradation of habitats, ecosystems and carbon stocks (e.g., from renewable energy infrastructure and mining of critical minerals, particularly in carbon-rich ecosystems).
  
  

  Target 8 in the 2030 Nature Strategy
  
  

  Canada recognizes the profound interconnectedness of climate change and biodiversity loss, emphasizing through Target 8 the need to minimize negative impacts and foster positive outcomes from climate action on nature. While progress has been made, Canada acknowledges the need for further efforts to meet its climate goals, including direct greenhouse gas reductions, as the effects of climate change are already being felt and are expected to intensify. Canada acknowledges that achieving this target will require a “national-scale transformation, balancing complex trade-offs, and a holistic approach to decision making that recognizes the interconnectedness of the environment, economy, and society”. It also acknowledges that safeguarding biodiversity from unintended consequences of climate actions is crucial, and more work is needed to prioritize protected and conserved areas that both mitigate climate change and support biodiversity.

  In addition to reducing emissions, Canada is committed to supporting projects that conserve, restore, and enhance ecosystems such as wetlands, peatlands, grasslands, and forests, while promoting sustainable farming practices to boost carbon sequestration and deliver co-benefits for biodiversity and human well-being. Through the new Climate, Nature, and Economy Lens, Canada claims that it will ensure that new programs submitted for cabinet approval are evaluated for their impacts and trade-offs.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond would enhance efforts to align Canada's commitments on climate change and biodiversity under both the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the CBD, explore innovative solutions at the intersection of these issues, and enable the development of an Ocean Climate Action Plan.

• Target 9: Ensure that the management and use of wild species are sustainable...

  Target 9: Ensure that the management and use of wild species are sustainable, thereby providing social, economic, and environmental benefits for people, especially those in vulnerable situations and those most dependent on biodiversity, including through sustainable biodiversity-based activities, products and services that enhance biodiversity, and protecting and encouraging customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.

  
  Target 9 is the first of the targets that emphasizes the benefits to people from biodiversity, particularly through the direct human use of species and ecosystems. The main actions under this target focus on the sustainable management of wild species, recognizing their crucial role in ecosystems, human livelihoods, and cultural identities. This requires managing various uses of biodiversity, both consumptive (e.g., harvesting) and non-consumptive (e.g., ecotourism), while balancing the demand for these resources. Additionally, the target addresses the conservation of biodiversity in domesticated species, along with improving productivity and sustainability in agriculture and aquaculture.

  While Target 9 is similar to Target 5 in promoting the sustainable use of biodiversity, it differs in scope and emphasis. Target 5 primarily focuses on halting overexploitation and ensuring legal, sustainable use as a response to biodiversity decline. In contrast, Target 9 adopts a broader approach, emphasizing the role of sustainable livelihoods and cultural practices. It aims for the use of wild species to not only conserve biodiversity but also support human well-being and equity.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  For countries like Canada, Target 9 is particularly important in ensuring that the harvesting of wild species, such as fisheries and forestry resources, is done in a way that conserves biodiversity while supporting economic and social well-being. Additionally, it addresses concerns around the illegal trade of wildlife and encourages the adoption of more sustainable and transparent management practices. The use of wild species in Canada is much more prevalent than most people realize. Many Canadians rely on wild species for food, livelihoods and products like medicines, cosmetics and recreation. Forestry, aquaculture and fisheries industries in Canada all use and consume wild species. Only through effectively conserving wild species and keeping ecosystems healthy can we continue to meet these demands.

  
  Target 9 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  This section of the Nature Strategy emphasizes Canada’s efforts to enhance the implementation of federal legislative tools, regulations, and policies that support the sustainable management of wild species while ensuring the customary use of these species by Indigenous Peoples. The strategy highlights opportunities to support Indigenous-led management actions, co-develop management plans, and promote traditional ways of living, particularly through food sovereignty. Ensuring alignment with federal laws and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) will help ensure that harvesting rights are respected and that Indigenous leadership, interests, and values are prioritized in wild species management. Canada's committed actions to meet Target 9 include supporting Indigenous food security and capacity building, promoting sustainable Indigenous fisheries, reducing impacts on non-target fish species, and sustainably managing wild species that are culturally important to Indigenous Peoples.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond would facilitate capacity building for Indigenous-led actions in wild species management, use, and habitat protection, such as through the Indigenous Guardians program. It would also enable efforts to reduce the risk of pathogen spillover and impacts on non-target species by fostering a collaborative, multi-sectoral approach to wildlife health threats, supporting One Health initiatives and the Pan-Canadian Approach to Wildlife Health. Strengthening policy coherence among federal, provincial, and territorial governments is also crucial to ensure consistent programming for the sustainable management and use of wild species.

• Target 10: Ensure that areas under agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry are managed sustainably...

  Target 10: Ensure that areas under agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry are managed sustainably, in particular through the sustainable use of biodiversity, including through a substantial increase of the application of biodiversity friendly practices, such as sustainable intensification, agroecological and other innovative approaches contributing to the resilience and long-term efficiency and productivity of these production systems and to food security, conserving and restoring biodiversity and maintaining nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services.

  
  Target 10 reflects the fact that, globally, land-use change driven by the expansion of agriculture, aquaculture, and forestry is the largest driver of terrestrial biodiversity loss. Sustainable management of these systems is crucial to reducing pressures on biodiversity while ensuring food security and supporting human livelihoods. The significance of Target 10 lies in addressing the dual role these sectors play—contributing to biodiversity loss, while also providing essential benefits for humans, such as food, resources, and economic development. Unlike sectors like mining, transportation infrastructure, and oil and gas—which are addressed under other targets—agriculture, aquaculture, and forestry directly manage living ecosystems, making them central to both conservation and production. By promoting sustainable practices in these sectors, the target aims to reduce habitat destruction, pollution, and overexploitation of natural resources, while enhancing ecosystem resilience, carbon sequestration, and soil health, and mitigating the overall impact on biodiversity.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  Previous Canada biodiversity strategies have not included targets that address production systems as a threat to biodiversity. Generally, it is assumed in Canada that current laws and regulations are successfully minimizing damage to biodiversity from agriculture, forestry, aquaculture and fisheries, but cumulative threats in particular are increasing and are poorly addressed. A stronger focus on directly addressing the biodiversity threats posed by production systems in Canada is needed, along with strategies for better supporting biodiversity within agriculture and managed ecosystems, within the context of efforts to sustain food production in a changing climate and amid shifting land pressures.

  
  Target 10 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Canada's agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry sectors form the productive base of the nation's bioeconomy and are key drivers of economic growth and food security. Canada refers to the sustainable management and use of biodiversity in these sectors as “an ongoing and evolving goal,” pointing to significant management efforts, regulations, and certification systems as evidence of progress. While taking an optimistic stance on the sustainability of these sectors, Canada acknowledges the challenges of “balancing” increased productivity with nature-positive and sustainable outcomes. These sectors, vital to the economy and food security, face mounting pressures from climate change, wildland fires, drought, pollution, invasive alien species, and pests. To address these challenges, Canada commits to developing a Sustainable Agriculture Strategy, a National Forest Resilience Strategy, and an approach to sustainable forest management that aligns with Canada’s commitments to the GBF.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond would advance the systematic implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management for federally managed fish stocks, promote sustainability initiatives and innovations in key productive sectors, facilitate the valuation of ecosystem services, and enhance knowledge of cumulative effects on biodiversity and ecosystems.

• Target 11: Restore, maintain and enhance nature’s contributions to people...

  Target 11: Restore, maintain and enhance nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, such as regulation of air, water, and climate, soil health, pollination and reduction of disease risk, as well as protection from natural hazards and disasters, through nature-based solutions and/or ecosystem-based approaches for the benefit of all people and nature.

  
  Target 11 focuses on maintaining and enhancing the benefits and value of biodiversity to people, particularly through ecosystem services such as clean water, air, soil health, and climate regulation. The significance of this target lies in its recognition of the critical role that healthy ecosystems play in supporting human well-being. It emphasizes the need to protect and restore ecosystems that provide essential services, especially for vulnerable communities, and highlights the importance of equitable access to these benefits.

  This target is crucial for ensuring that the benefits nature provides—like pollination, water filtration, carbon storage, and soil fertility—are sustained and accessible for future generations. By focusing on maintaining ecosystem functions, this target links biodiversity conservation with human health, food security, and resilience to climate change. It also underscores the need for equitable sharing of these benefits, particularly for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, who often rely directly on biodiversity for their livelihoods.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  The vast and diverse ecosystems in Canada provide myriad essential services such as clean water, air, carbon storage, and soil health. The extent to which a particular area provides ecosystem services depends not only on the relative ecological integrity and condition of its ecosystems but also on how accessible and usable the services are to the people who rely on them. Climate change is already affecting the capacity of Canada’s ecosystems to provide services. Indigenous Knowledge is critical for maintaining ecosystems and the services they provide.

  Actions to reach this target include reducing the direct pressures on the ecosystems that provide services related to the regulation of air quality, hazards and extreme events and quality and quantity of water (T 1, 4-6), proactive measures to conserve and restore key ecosystems (T2-3), and to create or re-create green and blue spaces in urban areas (T11). Further actions towards this target could also help to addressed proposed targets related to climate change mitigation adaption and disaster risk reduction (T8), ensuring benefits for people (T9) and the productivity, sustainability and resilience of biodiversity in agricultural and other managed ecosystems (T10).

  
  Target 11 in the 2030 Nature Strategy
  
  

  Canada is advancing efforts to better assess and report on the full range of benefits from “Nature-based Solutions” and “Ecosystem-based Adaptation” projects. Their current interventions primarily focus on restoration, climate resilience, and disaster risk reduction. The challenges in evaluating the broader values of ecosystem services, particularly those that lack established market values like food crops or timber are acknowledged. Canada is committed to Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond would enable the full development of the Census of Environment program, which aims to generate comprehensive environmental data on ecosystems across the country. Funding would also support the creation of tools and guidance for benefit assessment and reporting, including criteria and principles for the design and use of Payment for Ecosystem Services initiatives, and associated implementation guidance.

• Target 12: Significantly increase the area and quality and connectivity of, access to, and benefits from green and blue spaces...

  Target 12: Significantly increase the area and quality and connectivity of, access to, and benefits from green and blue spaces in urban and densely populated areas sustainably, by mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and ensure biodiversity-inclusive urban planning, enhancing native biodiversity, ecological connectivity and integrity, and improving human health and well-being and connection to nature and contributing to inclusive and sustainable urbanization and the provision of ecosystem functions and services.

  
  Target 12 highlights the importance of green and blue spaces—areas of vegetation and bodies of water, typically in or near urban environments—due to their wide-ranging benefits for human physical and mental well-being. As land becomes scarcer and competition for its use increases, these spaces are vital for supporting biodiversity, enhancing well-being, and fostering climate resilience. The target emphasizes the integration of nature into urban areas through urban forests, wetlands, and green infrastructure, which help mitigate floods, absorb carbon, and provide wildlife habitat. Additionally, it promotes more equitable access to these natural spaces, ensuring that the benefits of biodiversity are shared by all, particularly vulnerable and marginalized communities.

  The focus on urban areas is a new element in the KMGBF and was not a component of the Aichi Targets.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  Canada is a highly urbanized country, with 70% living in cities. Many municipalities in Canada are increasingly concerned about the state of nature and creating urban protected areas is in the federal mandate for this government. The critical importance of urban nature has been demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, during which access to green spaces in Canadian cities was an important factor in supporting health and wellbeing. Some cities (e.g., Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver) have already prepared biodiversity strategies. Particular attention to this target could promote the need for urban planning and design for municipalities to intentionally consider the value of nature.

  
  Target 12 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  While the vast majority of urban residents in Canada have green space close to their homes, the long-term trend in urban greenness is declining from urban expansion and suburban development. These pressures will continue as the populations of Canadian cities and towns grow. The challenge identified by Canada to meeting this target is “balancing” necessary urban development, including housing and

  transportation, with necessary and important biodiversity protection and climate action, demonstrating the importance of biodiversity-inclusive urban planning. Canada has committed to the creation of a network of up to 6 national urban parks across Canada, and focusing its efforts described in other targets in urban areas (e.g., species at risk conservation and recovery and nature-based solutions).

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond would accelerate the development of tools, guidance, and solutions to help communities integrate biodiversity and ecosystem services into their natural asset accounting and decision-making processes. This funding would also provide additional resources for establishing, restoring, and enhancing urban green and blue spaces, while building local capacity to implement urban biodiversity initiatives effectively.

• Target 13: Take effective legal, policy, administrative and capacity-building measures...

  Target 13: Take effective legal, policy, administrative and capacity-building measures at all levels, as appropriate, to ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits that arise from the utilization of genetic resources and from digital sequence information on genetic resources, as well as traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, and facilitating appropriate access to genetic resources, and by 2030 facilitating a significant increase of the benefits shared, in accordance with applicable international access and benefit-sharing instruments.

  
  Target 13 is directly linked with both Goal C of the GBF and the third objective of the CBD on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the utilization of genetic resources. The target focuses on developing effective legal, policy, administrative and capacity-building measures --- the actions that are needed to reach Goal C. Goal C and Target 13 extend beyond the scope of the CBD and are intended to be achieved in alignment with other internationally agreed-upon access and benefit-sharing frameworks. Target 13 extends to the use of digital sequence information and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources. See Goal C above for more information.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  Genetic resources in Canada play a vital role in scientific, environmental, public health, and commercial applications. They support efforts like developing new medicines and vaccines, tracking pathogens, improving crop yields, breeding climate-resilient animals and trees, creating biological pest controls, and modifying industrial processes. Indigenous Peoples use genetic resources for a variety of purposes, including traditional medicine, sustainable land and resource management, food systems, biodiversity conservation, and cultural practices. These resources, found in plants, animals, and microorganisms, are essential for biodiversity conservation and innovation, helping Canada address challenges like climate change while generating economic and social benefits, including improved food security and new health-related discoveries.

  Currently, Canada is not a Party to the Nagoya Protocol, the main instrument for addressing this issue globally. As well, there is currently no single, comprehensive access and benefit-sharing (ABS) system in place in Canada to govern access to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge or to facilitate the sharing of benefits arising from their use.
  
  

  Target 13 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  While genetic resources offer significant benefits to Canadians, the development of "access and benefit-sharing" (ABS) measures has been very limited. Canada attributes this to the complexity of the issue and a lack of capacity and understanding among many stakeholders and

  actors. The federal government’s main focus in this area has been its participation in various international ABS negotiations. Additionally, Canada conserves and shares genetic resources through gene banks and collections, making data publicly available by digitizing and sequencing specimens for international databases.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond clarify rules for accessing genetic resources, share best practices, explore ways for Canada to join the Nagoya Protocol, provide guidance on bioprospecting, and promote the sharing of information on benefit-sharing and compliance with Indigenous Knowledge.

• Target 14: Ensure the full integration of biodiversity...

  Target 14: Ensure the full integration of biodiversity and its multiple values into policies, regulations, planning and development processes, poverty eradication strategies, strategic environmental assessments, environmental impact assessments and, as appropriate, national accounting, within and across all levels of government and across all sectors, in particular those with significant impacts on biodiversity, progressively aligning all relevant public and private activities, fiscal and financial flows with the goals and targets of this framework.

  
  Target 14 aims to fully integrate biodiversity and its values into policies, regulations, planning, development processes, and environmental assessments across all levels of government and sectors. This integration is essential for achieving long-term sustainability, encouraging governments, industries, and society to consider biodiversity impacts in their actions. It also promotes cross-sector collaboration and accountability, helping address the root causes of biodiversity loss while working to ensure that economic growth does not harm the natural environment.

  Importantly, the final text includes no mention of the mitigation hierarchy or infrastructure impacts, which both appeared in previous drafts. For example, Infrastructure development (e.g., roads) acts as a catalyst for ecosystem degradation in many areas and the mitigation hierarchy is the most widely used tool for managing impacts to biodiversity at the project level.

  Target 14 has two key components: on-the-ground development and the supply chains that drive it. Actions under Target 1 (spatial planning) will play an important role in supporting the implementation of this target, to help ensure that both development and supply chains align with biodiversity goals.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  Current approaches in Canada do not systematically integrate biodiversity conservation into decision-making, often leaving biodiversity considerations to mitigation of impacts at later stages. Environmental concerns tend to be secondary or compartmentalized within sectors such as agriculture, forestry, mining, energy, housing, and infrastructure. Mainstreaming biodiversity would require a more holistic approach across all government departments and sectors of society, making biodiversity a central consideration in planning, development, and regulatory processes across all sectors from the outset.

  For countries like Canada that have large global supply chain footprints or global trade volume, there will be a need to pay attention to both domestic trade/development and trade impact/value chain impact along its global supply chain.

  
  Target 14 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Canada asserts that biodiversity is being considered by all levels of government in many policies and processes, but the examples provided do not yet demonstrate the comprehensive integration that Target 14 envisions. The recent introduction of the Climate, Nature, and Economy Lens is noted as one step, aimed at ensuring that biodiversity impacts are deliberately considered in proposals submitted to Cabinet. The regional and strategic assessment tools within the Impact Assessment Act also support this effort. Additionally, if passed, the proposed nature accountability bill would establish a framework for accountability and transparency, with checkpoints to advance the KMGBF targets domestically. The federal government acknowledges it has a leadership role to play in convening and coordinating with partners and stakeholders to further these collective mainstreaming efforts.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will enable Canada to enhance its efforts to integrate biodiversity into federal decision-making, build capacity to recognize its multiple values, including Indigenous Knowledge, and develop strategies that enhance co-benefits across climate, pollution, health, and culture.

• Target 15: Take legal, administrative or policy measures to encourage and enable business...

  Target 15: Take legal, administrative or policy measures to encourage and enable business, and in particular to ensure that large and transnational companies and financial institutions:

  (a) Regularly monitor, assess, and transparently disclose their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity, including with requirements for all large as well as transnational companies and financial institutions along their operations, supply and value chains and portfolios;

  (b) Provide information needed to consumers to promote sustainable consumption patterns;

  (c) Report on compliance with access and benefit-sharing regulations and measures, as applicable;

  in order to progressively reduce negative impacts on biodiversity, increase positive impacts, reduce biodiversity-related risks to business and financial institutions, and promote actions to ensure sustainable patterns of production.

  
  Target 15 focuses on the role of businesses and financial institutions in addressing biodiversity loss by encouraging them to assess and disclose their impacts and adopt sustainable practices throughout their operations and supply chains. Recognizing that sectors like agriculture, forestry, mining, and finance contribute to biodiversity degradation, and that biodiversity loss is estimated to be among the top ten risks to the global economy, the target seeks to shift financial flows toward biodiversity-positive outcomes. Transparency is key to understanding the footprint and dependencies of development, and even preliminary disclosure is a valuable first step in improving accountability.

  Similar to climate risk disclosures, Target 15 envisions governments requiring companies to report on biodiversity risks, such as the effects of their activities on species or their vulnerability to biodiversity decline. However, the final agreement removed mandatory disclosure and monitoring requirements. Unlike climate reporting, biodiversity lacks clear, simple indicators for businesses, though progress is being made. Actions in Targets 1, 2, and 3, which focus on baseline and measurement development, will help support the implementation of Target 15.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  Canada's economy depends heavily on sectors like agriculture, forestry, mining, and energy, all of which have significant impacts on biodiversity. It is crucial for these industries to align their operations with biodiversity-positive outcomes to support both economic development and environmental responsibility. However, in the absence of any regulatory frameworks, Canadian companies are behind many OECD countries in disclosing biodiversity risks. While some sectors have made progress, biodiversity risk reporting is not as advanced or widespread as climate risk reporting, with only one-third of Canadian companies currently addressing biodiversity loss in their reports.

  Implementing Target 15 in Canada could speed up improvements in corporate biodiversity disclosures, offering Indigenous communities and civil society greater transparency regarding corporate activities and their environmental impacts. The global Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, which includes Canadian members, is increasingly being used as a framework to direct financial flows toward nature-positive outcomes.

  
  Target 15 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Canada points to the considerable work that will be needed to “support the mainstreaming of biodiversity disclosures and address key

  barriers that companies may face in assessing, monitoring, and disclosing their biodiversity-related risks, impacts, and dependencies.” It also laments the lack of fit-for-purpose indicators and metrics. The federal government is monitoring and participating in the work of international

  organizations that seek to enable biodiversity-related disclosures and has recently advanced mandatory climate disclosures and sustainable investment guidelines. In this strategy, Canada commits to seeking advice for implementing something similar for biodiversity and encouraging the development of nature-related financial disclosure standards and their future adoption.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will enable Canada to help companies monitor and disclose their biodiversity risks and impacts by building partnerships and raising awareness, while working with provinces and territories to advance nature disclosures based on lessons from climate reporting and early adopters of voluntary nature disclosures.

• Target 16: Ensure that people are encouraged and enabled to make sustainable consumption choices...

  Target 16: Ensure that people are encouraged and enabled to make sustainable consumption choices including by establishing supportive policy, legislative or regulatory frameworks, improving education and access to relevant and accurate information and alternatives, and by 2030, reduce the global footprint of consumption in an equitable manner, including through halving global food waste, significantly reducing overconsumption, and substantially reducing waste generation, in order for all people to live well in harmony with Mother Earth.

  
  Target 16 addresses overconsumption as a root cause of biodiversity and climate crises. Decentralized production decisions, driven by market demand and short-term profits, are often divorced from long-term environmental impacts, leading to unsustainable consumption patterns and environmental degradation. Governments rarely intervene, which exacerbates the issue. Reducing demand for natural resources, especially in affluent societies, is key to lowering production pressure and aligning supply with sustainable practices. This target advocates for a shift toward sustainable consumption and production, aligning with Goal 12 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals – Responsible Consumption and Production. Although the term "circular economy" was omitted from the final text, it emphasizes reducing demand for natural resources, minimizing waste, and promoting practices that keep materials in use for as long as possible—core elements of the circular economy approach aimed at reducing pressure on ecosystems and biodiversity.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  Canada stands out among OECD countries for its high consumption rates of materials, energy, and water, largely driven by cultural and geographic factors. This is reflected in Canada's ranking as the sixth-highest material consumer in the OECD. Like other affluent nations, Canada’s strong consumer culture promotes overconsumption and discourages practices such as reuse, repair, and sharing, making it difficult to adopt circular economic approaches. Waste levels continue to rise despite improved landfill diversion efforts.

  Currently, Canada’s environmental policies focus more on mitigating impacts rather than addressing consumption limits directly. This leaves a gap in confronting the root causes of unsustainable practices. Efforts to promote a circular economy remain fragmented and underdeveloped compared to regions like Europe and countries such as Japan and China. For instance, Canada’s ambition for achieving SDG Goal 12, which focuses on sustainable consumption and production, is limited to measures like encouraging zero-emission vehicle purchases and extending the lifespan of products through repair and refurbishment.

  
  Target 16 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  The challenges of Canada’s high-consumption economy are well recognized, with the government acknowledging that the country's current targets will not be met without a "whole-of-society transformation" to reduce consumption and enable biodiversity to thrive. In response, the federal government is committed to supporting the transition to a more circular economy, focusing on reducing consumption and waste. This includes implementing stronger labelling standards for plastics recyclability and compostability, as well as advancing the Food Loss and Waste Reduction Action Plan to address these issues comprehensively.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will focus Canada on improving measurement and tracking of its circular economy transition, using behavioral science to promote sustainable choices, and enhancing traceability in the forest sector to support geolocation and tracking of forest products.

• Target 17: Establish, strengthen capacity for, and implement in all countries in biosafety measures...

  Target 17: Establish, strengthen capacity for, and implement in all countries in biosafety measures as set out in Article 8(g) of the Convention on Biological Diversity and measures for the handling of biotechnology and distribution of its benefits as set out in Article 19 of the Convention.

  
  Target 17 focuses on regulating the emerging and rapidly evolving field of synthetic biology, which allows precise alterations to the genes of organisms. These technologies have both positive and negative implications for biodiversity, depending on their application. Synthetic biology involves the creation of new biological components, devices, and systems, or the re-engineering of existing ones, with potential uses in agriculture, health, and environmental management. Potential benefits include protecting endangered species and producing synthetic alternatives to wildlife products. However, it also poses risks, such as altering the ecological roles of organisms and negatively impacting the livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and local communities who depend on biodiversity. To mitigate these risks, Target 17 emphasizes the need for strong governance, comprehensive risk assessments, and management strategies to ensure synthetic biology is used responsibly without harming ecosystems and biodiversity.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  There is already a rich community of practice of synthetic biology in place in Canada, but strategic integration of such efforts into biodiversity conservation actions is largely absent today. On the other hand, Canada's regulatory framework for biotechnology, governed by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and sector-specific regulations, is designed to manage the safety of biotechnology products for both the environment and human health. This framework is periodically updated to address emerging challenges in synthetic biology. Recent amendments reflect modern biotechnology practices, and the process includes public engagement and consultations with Indigenous Peoples, experts, and NGOs to ensure a broad range of perspectives are considered.

  
  Target 17 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Canada's approach to biosafety focuses on assessing the risks that organisms may pose to the environment and human health, based on the final product rather than the process used to create them. The federal government continues to collaborate with academic partners to evaluate the benefits and costs of biotechnology products, including their socio-economic impacts on Indigenous communities. As part of its ongoing efforts, Canada is developing and verifying containment standards for living modified organisms (LMOs), which will enhance the biotechnology sector's ability to conduct safe research, while also improving compliance and capacity in biosafety. Additional areas of focus include improving response to accidental releases, monitoring the rapid evolution of LMOs, and increasing public engagement with Indigenous Peoples, provinces, and myriad stakeholders.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will enable Canada to amend its New Substances Notification Regulations (Organisms) and conducting a gap analysis of biosafety priorities in biotechnology. Canada is also exploring the potential ratification of the Cartagena Protocol, enhancing communication efforts, and engaging with stakeholders on biosafety issues, while aligning with international standards and collaborating with OECD members on biotechnology safety.

• Target 18: Identify by 2025, and eliminate, phase out or reform incentives...

  Target 18: Identify by 2025, and eliminate, phase out or reform incentives, including subsidies, harmful for biodiversity, in a proportionate, just, fair, effective and equitable way, while substantially and progressively reducing them by at least 500 billion United States dollars per year by 2030, starting with the most harmful incentives, and scale up positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

  
  Target 18 recognizes that inadequate finance was undoubtedly a key reason for the failure to achieve the Aichi Targets by 2020. A substantial gap for funding biodiversity persists. The KMGBF seeks to address this not only by emphasizing larger financial commitments by countries (T19), but by ending subsidies harmful to biodiversity by 2030. Repurposing, or eliminating subsidies across the economy (including agriculture, construction, forestry, fossil fuels, marine capture fisheries, transport and water sectors) could help unlock the financing needed to promote positive actions to safeguard biodiversity. Addressing this target will require attention to resolve policy incoherence within domestic laws and policies to prevent harmful net biodiversity outcomes. The text includes mention of positive incentives “for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity” that should be increased.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  More attention in Canada has been paid to fossil fuel subsidies than harmful incentives that affect biodiversity (although there is a great deal of overlap between the two). Subsidies that can be harmful to biodiversity include those for roads and transmission lines, mineral exploration, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, etc. Subsidies meant to drive the transition away from fossil fuels will need to intentionally consider impacts on biodiversity (e.g., building roads to access natural resources, thereby inducing growth in ecologically intact areas).

  
  Target 18 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Canada highlights its commitment to biodiversity conservation through substantial funding, including the largest single investment in nature conservation in 2018. However, the country also acknowledges that harmful incentives, like certain subsidies, remain an issue. While Canada is in the early stages of identifying, eliminating, or reforming these incentives, it stresses the need for policy coherence between climate and biodiversity subsidies. The government recognizes that some subsidies critical for advancing climate goals may have unintended negative consequences for biodiversity if not carefully managed. Additionally, Canada is implementing its Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies Assessment Framework, aiming to progressively reduce harmful incentives by 2030 while scaling up positive incentives for biodiversity conservation.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond would enable Canada to improve the availability and reporting of information on harmful incentives for biodiversity.

• Target 19: Substantially and progressively increase the level of financial resources...

  Target 19: Substantially and progressively increase the level of financial resources from all sources, in an effective, timely and easily accessible manner, including domestic, international, public and private resources, in accordance with Article 20 of the Convention, to implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans, by 2030 mobilizing at least 200 billion United States dollars per year.

  
  Target 19 underscores the critical need for substantial financial resources from both governments and the private sector to meet biodiversity goals. It commits developed countries, along with others that voluntarily take on these responsibilities, to mobilize at least USD 20 billion annually by 2025, and USD 30 billion annually by 2030, specifically for biodiversity-related actions in developing nations. While international funding for biodiversity projects has grown—from $7.3 billion in 2015 to $15.4 billion in 2022—these contributions still fall short of what is required to address biodiversity loss; flows towards biodiversity as a principal objective declined. The target also highlights the indispensable role of Indigenous Peoples in biodiversity conservation, encouraging actions that not only support biodiversity but also advance their rights.

  Furthermore, the global mobilization of $200 billion annually by 2030 is deemed essential for addressing the urgent biodiversity crisis, but achieving this will require improved coordination and a more equitable sharing of costs across nations. Target 19 works in tandem with Target 18, which calls for the elimination of harmful subsidies, ensuring that financial efforts are aligned with biodiversity conservation goals; progress towards this target will also be supported by actions related to Targets 14 and 15.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  As a developed country, Canada is expected to contribute to the global financial mobilization needed to address biodiversity loss, particularly in developing nations. Canada’s hosting of the Global Environmental Facility Assembly in August 2023 Canada's hosting of the Global Environmental Facility assembly in August 2023 demonstrated its leadership and commitment to mobilizing financial resources and fostering international cooperation.

  Target 19 emphasizes the need to not only increase international funding for biodiversity-related initiatives but also ensure that its own biodiversity efforts are properly resourced. It aligns with Canada's broader international commitments, highlighting its role in mobilizing financial resources, both domestically and internationally, for the protection of biodiversity. By supporting financial mobilization, Canada can advance co-beneficial actions that enhance biodiversity while promoting the rights and involvement of Indigenous Peoples. Between 2015 and 2022, Canada targeted the largest (45%) overall share of their biodiversity-related official development finance to Indigenous Peoples of OECD countries.

  
  Target 19 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Canada acknowledges that biodiversity finance is still in its early stages, perceived as complex and often competing with limited climate funding. As a resource-based economy, Canada recognizes the critical importance of nature, and while efforts have been initiated, including federal funding commitments for developing countries through 2026, further actions are required. Achieving the financial goals will necessitate a collective doubling of contributions by 2025 and tripling by 2030 from international public finance. Canada states its commitment to exploring how it can leverage its funding instruments and convening power to attract private sector resources for a comprehensive domestic and international effort to protect, conserve, and restore nature.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will allow Canada to develop a national resource mobilization plan, explore public-private partnerships and innovative financing models, and provide the tools needed to integrate biodiversity more deeply into the Canadian economy, driving a nature-positive future.

• Target 20: Strengthen capacity-building and development...

  Target 20: Strengthen capacity-building and development, access to and transfer of technology, and promote development of and access to innovation and technical and scientific cooperation, including through South-South, North-South and triangular cooperation, to meet the needs for effective implementation, particularly in developing countries, fostering joint technology development and joint scientific research programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and strengthening scientific research and monitoring capacities, commensurate with the ambition of the goals and targets of the framework.

  Target 20 addresses the need for capacity-building, particularly in developing countries, to support the effective implementation of biodiversity strategies. This includes not only enhanced expertise, but institutional capacity, as well as tools and technology. The key elements are (1) improving the knowledge, skills, competencies and attitudes of individuals (2) strengthening the organizational capacity of Parties, including enhancing biodiversity governance, and (3) strengthening the enabling environment (e.g., policy and regulatory frameworks, resource mobilization, and even political support).

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  While the orientation of the GBF is mostly on developing countries, Canada’s vast landmass and relatively small, widely dispersed population present specific capacity limitations that must be overcome to achieve biodiversity targets. Canada’s distributed governance structure, with varying levels of capacity across provincial and territorial governments, local communities, civil society, and Indigenous communities, underscores the complexity of implementing ambitious biodiversity goals. These entities will shoulder significant responsibilities for enacting the framework’s objectives, yet they often have differing levels of resources and expertise.

  As the ambition of the biodiversity targets scales up, so too must the capacity to implement them across all sectors of Canadian society. This will require deliberate efforts to enhance technical skills, financial support, and knowledge-sharing mechanisms. For Canada to succeed in its commitments under the framework, it will need to address these capacity gaps to equip all levels of government and society to protect and restore biodiversity effectively.

  
  Target 20 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Canada’s commitment to Target 20 emphasizes its role in assisting developing countries by sharing knowledge, fostering global capacity building, and supporting implementation strategies. While Canada is focused on contributing to these efforts internationally, it also acknowledges the importance of learning from other countries' experiences. Canada's commitments, as noted in the Target 19 implementation plan, also contribute to Target 20 by providing support for capacity building, development, technology transfer, and technical and scientific cooperation.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will allow Canada to continue supporting and sharing information and lessons learned with international partners on the implementation of the KMGBF, contributing to global efforts to strengthen biodiversity protection and capacity building.

• Target 21: Ensure that the best available data, information and knowledge are accessible...

  Target 21: Ensure that the best available data, information and knowledge, are accessible to decision makers, practitioners and the public to guide effective and equitable governance, integrated and participatory management of biodiversity, and to strengthen communication, awareness-raising, education, monitoring, research and knowledge management and, also in this context, traditional knowledge, innovations, practices and technologies of indigenous peoples and local communities should only be accessed with their free, prior and informed consent, in accordance with national legislation.

  
  Target 21 focuses on ensuring that data, information, and knowledge related to biodiversity are accessible, transparent, and shared widely. This target emphasizes the need for effective knowledge exchange among governments, Indigenous Peoples, scientists, and the public, which is critical for informed decision-making and accountability. Promoting open access to biodiversity-related information and strengthening national and international reporting systems can support the coordination of efforts to monitor, protect, and restore biodiversity globally. Additionally, the vital role of Indigenous knowledge is recognized, ensuring that these perspectives are included in the global conservation dialogue. This exchange of knowledge helps drive evidence-based policies and enhances collaboration across sectors, which is essential for meeting the broader goals of biodiversity conservation. This target has several components: 1) Improved accessibility to relevant biodiversity data, information and knowledge, 2) communication, awareness-raising, education, 3) knowledge management, 4) monitoring, 5) research, and 6) knowledge, innovations, practices and technologies of Indigenous peoples and local communities.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  Canada’s vast geographic extent, combined with its decentralized governance structure, which assigns responsibility for natural resources and biodiversity to provincial and territorial governments, has resulted in biodiversity-related information biodiversity data and expertise being scattered across various regions and sectors. This fragmentation hinders cohesive national planning, coordinated conservation actions, and effective decision-making. Furthermore, this target is essential for monitoring the effectiveness of biodiversity actions and ensuring that Canada’s biodiversity conservation initiatives are robust, data-driven, and aligned with global standards. Achieving this target will require the equitable consideration of both Indigenous Knowledge and western science.

  
  Target 21 in the 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy

  
  Canada’s commitment involves delivering and supporting initiatives to collect, manage, and share biodiversity information, and recognizing, elevating, and integrating Indigenous Knowledge in federal decision-making. This includes enhancing collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, supporting Indigenous data sovereignty, ensuring equitable consideration of Indigenous Knowledge in biodiversity impact assessments, and assembling an online compendium of trusted biodiversity resources for broader public access.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will enable Canada to explore opportunities to improve access to existing biodiversity data through digitization, secure storage, and open publication, while also addressing critical knowledge gaps and enhancing monitoring and assessment of ecosystems, species, and conservation actions.

• Target 22: Ensure the full, equitable, inclusive, effective and gender-responsive representation and participation...

  Target 22: Ensure the full, equitable, inclusive, effective and gender-responsive representation and participation in decision-making, and access to justice and information related to biodiversity by indigenous peoples and local communities, respecting their cultures and their rights over lands, territories, resources, and traditional knowledge, as well as by women and girls, children and youth, and persons with disabilities and ensure the full protection of environmental human rights defenders.

  
  Target 22 follows on the preamble to the Convention text, which recognizes the “close and traditional dependence of many indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles on biological resources, and the desirability of sharing equitably benefits arising from the use of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices relevant to the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components”. In the KMGBF, the rights of Indigenous peoples are included among umbrella considerations and in one-third of the targets (goal C and targets 1, 3, 5, 9, 13, 19, and 20). This target has a more singular focus on Indigenous peoples and local communities, driven by the important reality that a significant proportion of the global land area is traditionally owned, managed, used or occupied by Indigenous peoples, who depend on nature for subsistence, livelihoods and health, and whose traditional lands are facing escalating development pressures. The target also recognizes the importance of meaningful participation of women and girls, the inclusion of children, youth and persons with disabilities, and the need to protect environmental human rights defenders.

  
  Significance for Canada

  
  The development and domestic implementation of the KMGBF targets provides an opportunity to model Canada’s global leadership in recognizing and strengthening the essential role and equitable participation of Indigenous peoples. This will be essential for enabling the transformative change that will be necessary to halt and reverse biodiversity decline in this country. Implementation of this target in Canada can build on the critical foundation laid by the Indigenous Circle of Experts and their landmark 2018 report on Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas “in the spirit and practice of reconciliation” and ongoing Indigenous-led conservation, Guardian, and stewardship efforts across the country. At the same time, as noted in a 2022 report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples it is equally important that ambitious conservation targets not come at the expense of Indigenous peoples

  
  Target 22 in the 2030 Nature Strategy

  
  Canada's commitment to the implementation of this target is presented as integral and cross-cutting, touching all other targets. For the strategy to succeed, the expertise and leadership of First Nations, Inuit, and the Métis Nation will be prioritized, as well as the direct involvement of Indigenous Peoples in co-developing and actively participating in decision-making processes related to biodiversity conservation. This commitment aligns with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and supports the implementation of Canada’s UN Declaration Act Action Plan (2023-2028), emphasizing Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will support Canada’s commitments to action on critical issues like ending violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, while exploring new funding approaches to streamline partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and opportunities to better understand the links between human rights work and biodiversity conservation.

• Target 23: Ensure gender equality in the implementation of the framework...

  Target 23: Ensure gender equality in the implementation of the framework through a gender-responsive approach where all women and girls have equal opportunity and capacity to contribute to the three objectives of the Convention, including by recognizing their equal rights and access to land and natural resources and their full, equitable, meaningful, and informed participation and leadership at all levels of action, engagement, policy and decision-making related to biodiversity.

  
  Target 23 recognizes that there is increasing evidence about not only the important role of women and girls in biodiversity conservation and resource development, but their relative lack of participation in decision making despite the disproportionate negative impacts they often suffer from biodiversity loss and climate change. This target builds on Target 22, which mentions women and girls as a group that have equal rights to participate effectively in biodiversity action and policy. Target 23 is a gender-specific target that not only further affirms women and girls’ equal rights, including access to land and natural resources, but commits Parties to monitoring and reporting on progress made towards gender equality under all aspects of the CBD, including uses and benefits.

  This marks the first time an international environmental agreement recognizes gender-specific access to natural resources, addressing important issues such as the protection of women defenders and gender violence in an environmental context. In Montreal at COP15, Parties also adopted the Gender Plan of Action, the purpose of which is to “support and promote the gender-responsive implementation of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework” and its associated mechanisms.

  Significance for Canada

  Canada's commitment aligns with its longstanding focus on applying Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) in federal decision-making, policy development, and legislation. GBA Plus is a critical tool for assessing how diverse groups, including women, men, girls, and gender-diverse individuals, experience programs and policies. The implementation of this target offers Canada an opportunity to extend its efforts related to Women and Climate Change and Gender-based analysis Plus into the realm of biodiversity conservation. Notably, Canada has already mainstreamed gender equality objectives into over 93% of its biodiversity-related development finance portfolio, reinforcing its commitment to integrating gender considerations in addressing global biodiversity challenges.

  Securing new budget support for 2025 and beyond will enable Canada to continue advancing the adoption of actions outlined in the Gender Plan of Action, both nationally and internationally. This funding will also encourage other countries to integrate gender considerations into their biodiversity plans and policies. Canada aims to strengthen and align existing federal approaches to gender-responsive and gender-transformative strategies, supporting and informing gender equality in biodiversity fora. A key focus will be enhancing the application of the GBA Plus tool in biodiversity conservation, with an increased emphasis on intersectionality to ensure that diverse perspectives are fully considered.