Over the past decade, countries have made ambitious international climate and biodiversity commitments. Signatories to the Paris Agreement committed to a global climate goal of holding temperature rise to 1.5C through, among other things, nature-based solutions. In 2022, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), committing to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 through targets on climate, species and ecosystems. Prioritizing action in places with high levels of carbon and biodiversity is key to achieving both commitments. This brief outlines recommendations for how countries can incorporate high-carbon ecosystems into their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) under the CBD to achieve ‘win-wins’ for both biodiversity and climate.
This document is one in a series of policy briefs that Conservation International is compiling to support countries’ efforts on their NBSAPs. This brief will be particularly useful for countries with large remaining tracts of high-carbon ecosystems such as mangroves, peatlands, and old-growth forests and opportunities for increasing area-based conservation.