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Some 125 countries – representing nearly two-thirds of the 196 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and a large portion of the world’s biodiversity – have submitted their 7th National Reports in time for their integration in the first review of collective progress towards the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), which will take place at COP17 from October 19 to 30, 2026, in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.
February 28, 2026, was the deadline that the Parties to the Convention set at COP15 for the submission of the 7th National Reports – a primary source of information for the global review. Timely submission was recognised as critical, owing to the limited time available for the preparation of the global report compiling information contained in Parties’ submissions. Owing to a technical issue, reports that need to be uploaded manually will be displayed with some delay in the online system.
February 28 was also the deadline for reports to the two Convention Protocols, with nearly three-fourths (129 out of 173) of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and two-thirds (95 out of 142) of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing of Genetic Resources, submitting reports.
“The laudable efforts to meet the national reporting deadlines under the CBD and also under its Protocols, demonstrate Parties’ strong commitment to the global endeavor to halt and reverse the world’s biodiversity loss,” said Astrid Schomaker, the Executive Secretary of the CBD.
The periodic submission of national reports is part of the obligations outlined in Article 26 of the CBD. This seventh round integrates quantitative reporting tethered to the Planning, Monitoring, Reporting and Review mechanisms of the KMGBF – the commonly agreed guidelines and yardsticks designed to ensure transparency and responsibility in implementation.
To ensure coherence in the assessment of collective progress at COP17, the preparation of the 7th National Reports followed guidance and a standardised template adopted by the Conference of the Parties. Although they cannot be considered in the global report now being prepared by the Secretariat, all the seventh National Reports submitted will be made publicly available.
The global report will also include information received from actors other than national governments, including indigenous peoples and local communities, cities, businesses, financial institutions and members of civil society, who responded to the Secretariat’s call for submission of commitments reflecting the whole-of-society implementation of the KMGBF.
“Let us leverage the global review of progress in Yerevan to make COP17 a conference of enhancing and accelerating action for nature and for people,” Ms. Schomaker said.
