Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
The current global biodiversity plan under the Convention on Biological Diversity. It sets four goals for 2050 and twenty-three targets for 2030, including the widely cited aim to protect at least 30 percent of land and sea. It was adopted as a decision of the Conference of the Parties, not as a second biodiversity treaty.
Official name: Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
Citation: Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; Decision 15/4 of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted 19 December 2022 in Montreal
Year / status: Adopted 19 December 2022 at the second part of the 15th Conference of the Parties in Montreal (Decision 15/4). A decision under the Convention, not a separately ratified treaty.
What it does
Decision 15/4 adopts the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework as the pathway for putting the Convention into practice this decade. It sets a 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature, four goals for 2050, and 23 action targets for 2030. Target 3, on conservation of areas, is often summarised as protecting 30 percent of land and sea. Companion decisions from the same meeting cover monitoring, planning, reporting, review, finance, and support for countries carrying out the work.
Where it applies / status
It applies through the national targets and biodiversity strategies of parties to the Convention. Adopted in Montreal on 19 December 2022 as Decision 15/4. It is a decision of the Conference of the Parties under the Convention on Biological Diversity, not a separately ratified treaty. A first global review of collective progress is on the agenda of the 17th Conference of the Parties, in a process set for 2026.
Documented benefits or intended effects
The intended effects are to replace the earlier 2010-2020 biodiversity targets, known as the Aichi Targets, with a clearer set of aims for 2030, to line up national biodiversity plans, and to create a cycle of monitoring and review. Delivery depends on national law, money, and which areas of land and sea countries designate. The decision text alone does not create a protected area.
Caveats
The Framework is not a standalone treaty and does not replace the text of the Convention. The 30 percent figure in Target 3 is a collective aim for 2030, not a sign that the world has already protected 30 percent of land and sea. The exact wording of the goals and targets is in Decision 15/4 and on the Convention secretariat’s framework page.
Sources
Framework page at the Convention secretariat; Decision 15/4; page of 2030 targets; secretariat note on the text adopted in Montreal.