Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav delivered India's National Statement at the high-level segment of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP-17) in Yerevan, Armenia, on 27 October 2026.
His main argument was that the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) must be implemented according to national priorities, circumstances and legislation. He added that implementation needs adequate and predictable finance, capacity-building and technology transfer from developed countries. This is the language India has long used in climate negotiations, applied here to biodiversity. Yadav also set out India's own numbers and programmes, which are the most testable part of the speech.
The meeting is significant because of its timing. The framework was adopted in December 2022 with targets for 2030, so Yerevan is the halfway point. It is the first time the parties formally review whether the targets are on track.
The meeting in brief
The 2026 UN Biodiversity Conference runs from 19 to 30 October in Yerevan. It combines three meetings:
| Meeting | Body | Focus in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| COP 17 | Convention on Biological Diversity | First global review of the KMGBF; finance; Indigenous Peoples and local communities |
| CP-MOP 12 | Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety | Updated guidance on risk assessment of living modified organisms |
| NP-MOP 6 | Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing | Monitoring, capacity support, institutional effectiveness |
The COP 17 President is Hambardzum Matevosyan, Armenia's Minister of Environment. The CBD Secretariat, headed by Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker, is based in Montreal.
The review rests on a new UN report, State of Biodiversity Action. Its main findings, as the Secretariat summarised them on the opening day:
- Nearly 90% of Parties have set national targets.
- More than 70% have submitted their national reports. The seventh national reports were due by 28 February 2026.
- Action is under way on all 23 targets.
- But fewer than half of national targets are assessed by Parties themselves as on track.
In short, almost every country has a plan, and most of the plans are behind schedule.
What India said
The statement had five main positions. Each is worth knowing, because a statement-based question can be built on any of them.
- National circumstances first. The framework must be applied in line with each country's priorities, circumstances and laws. This parallels the climate principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
- Means of implementation. Developed countries must provide adequate and predictable finance, capacity-building and technology transfer.
- Benefit-sharing from digital data. India supports benefit-sharing from digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources through the multilateral mechanism, including the Cali Fund.
- Caution on synthetic biology. India wants a science-based, risk-proportionate and precautionary approach to synthetic biology and biosafety.
- A national plan. India's updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) translates the framework into 23 National Biodiversity Targets with 142 indicators.
The NBSAP was released at COP-16 in Cali, Colombia, on 30 October 2024. It commits India to protect at least 30% of its land, inland water and coastal and marine areas by 2030, matching the global "30x30" target. India's previous NBSAP dated from 2014.
India's numbers
| Indicator | Figure stated at COP-17 |
|---|---|
| Protected Areas | 1,134 |
| Ramsar sites (wetlands of international importance) | 103 |
| Biodiversity Heritage Sites | 57 |
| Biosphere Reserves | 18, of which 13 are in UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere network |
The Ramsar count is moving fast. India passed 100 sites in June 2026, and examiners usually test the latest figure. For the conservation categories behind these numbers, see our notes on conservation and protected areas in India and on wetlands and Ramsar sites.
Programmes named in the speech
- International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA): launched by the Prime Minister at Mysuru on 9 April 2023, marking 50 years of Project Tiger. It covers the world's seven big cats: tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar and puma. It became a treaty-based intergovernmental organisation in January 2025, with its headquarters in India.
- Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment): launched in October 2022 to encourage individual behaviour change.
- Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam: a tree-planting campaign launched on World Environment Day, 5 June 2024.
- MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes): mangrove restoration, announced in the 2023-24 Budget.
- Amrit Dharohar: conservation of Ramsar wetlands, launched in June 2023.
- Soil Health Card Scheme: cited for sustainable soil management.
- Village-level committees for access and benefit-sharing: these are the Biodiversity Management Committees set up under India's biodiversity law.
The last point is easily missed in a list of schemes. It describes India's three-tier model for benefit-sharing, covered below.
The Convention and its protocols
The CBD was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. With the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention to Combat Desertification, it is one of the three "Rio conventions". The CBD entered into force on 29 December 1993 and has 196 Parties. The United States signed it but has never ratified it, the most commonly tested fact about the treaty. India ratified it in 1994 and hosted COP-11 at Hyderabad in 2012.
It has three objectives: conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources.
| Instrument | Adopted | In force | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cartagena Protocol | 2000 | 2003 | Safe transfer and handling of living modified organisms (biosafety) |
| Nagoya Protocol | 2010 | 2014 | Access and benefit-sharing (ABS) from genetic resources |
| Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol | 2010 | 2018 | Liability and redress for damage from living modified organisms |
The Kunming-Montreal framework
The framework was adopted at COP-15, held in two parts: the first at Kunming, China, in 2021 and the second at Montreal, Canada, where it was adopted on 19 December 2022. China held the presidency throughout, which explains the double name. It replaced the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (2011-2020), none of which was fully met globally.
It has 4 long-term goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030, under a vision of "living in harmony with nature" by 2050. The targets most often tested:
| Target | Commitment by 2030 |
|---|---|
| 2 | Restore at least 30% of degraded ecosystems |
| 3 | Conserve at least 30% of land and of sea ("30x30") |
| 6 | Halve the introduction of invasive alien species |
| 7 | Halve excess nutrients lost to the environment and the overall risk from pesticides |
| 15 | Large companies to assess and disclose their impacts on biodiversity |
| 18 | Cut harmful subsidies by at least USD 500 billion a year |
| 19 | Mobilise at least USD 200 billion a year from all sources; international finance to developing countries of USD 20 billion a year by 2025 and USD 30 billion by 2030 |
The two "30%" targets are a standard trap. Target 2 is about restoring degraded areas; Target 3 is about conserving land and sea.
The Cali Fund and digital sequence information
Digital sequence information is the genetic data, such as DNA sequences, now stored in public databases. Companies can use it to develop medicines, seeds or cosmetics without ever collecting a physical sample. The Nagoya Protocol was built for physical samples, so DSI fell outside it. Countries rich in biodiversity, India among them, argued that this created a loophole.
COP-16 in Cali answered with the Cali Fund, agreed in November 2024 and launched on 25 February 2025 in Rome, at the resumed session of COP-16. Its main features:
- Companies that benefit commercially from DSI are asked to contribute 1% of profits or 0.1% of revenue, as an indicative rate.
- At least 50% of the money is meant for the self-identified needs of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
- Contributions are voluntary. Academic and public research users are exempt.
This is why India's statement backed a multilateral mechanism. The weakness is money. The fund was expected to raise up to USD 1 billion a year, but by August 2026 it had received only two contributions totalling about USD 6,000, according to Mongabay. Whether voluntary contributions can work at all is one of the questions before COP-17.
COP-16 also created a permanent subsidiary body on Article 8(j) of the Convention, which deals with the knowledge and practices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
India's three-tier model
India's legal basis is the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, amended in 2023. It sets up three tiers:
- the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) at Chennai, which approves access by foreign entities and the transfer of research results abroad;
- State Biodiversity Boards, which regulate access by Indian entities;
- Biodiversity Management Committees at the level of local bodies, which maintain People's Biodiversity Registers of local resources and knowledge.
These are the "village-level committees" in Yadav's speech. Benefit-sharing payments under this law have featured in several recent releases, explained in our article on the NBA and access-and-benefit sharing.
Reading India's position
India's statement had two parts. On its own record, it presented a long list of sites and schemes. On the negotiations, it argued that national circumstances come first and that developed countries must pay.
Both are consistent with the review's findings. If fewer than half of national targets are on track, the main question is whether the money and technology will reach developing countries, not whether they have plans. India's caution on synthetic biology also connects to the Cartagena Protocol. Gene-edited and engineered organisms raise the same biosafety questions as earlier living modified organisms, and India wants each case judged on its risks.
🔑 Revision block
The event. India's National Statement at the high-level segment of CBD COP-17, Yerevan, Armenia, 27 October 2026, by Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.
The conference. 2026 UN Biodiversity Conference, 19-30 October: COP 17 + CP-MOP 12 (Cartagena) + NP-MOP 6 (Nagoya); COP President Hambardzum Matevosyan (Armenia); Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker; Secretariat Montreal.
The review. First global review of the KMGBF; report State of Biodiversity Action: ~90% of Parties set national targets, >70% filed national reports, fewer than half of targets on track.
India's positions. National circumstances; finance and technology from developed countries; DSI benefit-sharing through the Cali Fund; precautionary approach to synthetic biology.
India's figures. NBSAP: 23 targets, 142 indicators (released at COP-16, 30 October 2024); 1,134 PAs; 103 Ramsar sites; 57 Biodiversity Heritage Sites; 18 Biosphere Reserves (13 in UNESCO MAB).
The CBD. Rio, 1992; in force 29 December 1993; 196 Parties; US not a party; India ratified 1994, hosted COP-11 (Hyderabad, 2012). Cartagena 2000/2003; Nagoya 2010/2014.
The framework. COP-15, adopted 19 December 2022; 4 goals (2050), 23 targets (2030); Target 2 restore 30%, Target 3 conserve 30%; Target 19 USD 200 bn a year.
Cali Fund. Launched 25 February 2025, Rome; 1% of profits or 0.1% of revenue; ≥50% for Indigenous Peoples and local communities; voluntary.
🎯 Practice MCQs
Q1. CBD COP-17, at which India delivered its national statement in October 2026, is being held in: (a) Yerevan (b) Cali (c) Ulaanbaatar (d) Baku
→ (a) Cali hosted COP-16 in 2024; Ulaanbaatar hosted the desertification convention's COP17 in August 2026.
Q2. Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the target to conserve at least 30% of land and sea by 2030 is: (a) Target 2 (b) Target 7 (c) Target 3 (d) Target 19
→ (c) Target 2 is about restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems; Target 19 is about finance.
Q3. Consider the following statements about the Convention on Biological Diversity: 1. It entered into force in December 1993. 2. The United States is a Party to it. Which is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
→ (a) The US signed the Convention in 1993 but has never ratified it.
Q4. The Cartagena Protocol under the CBD deals with: (a) access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing (b) trade in endangered species (c) the conservation of wetlands (d) the safe handling and transfer of living modified organisms
→ (d) Access and benefit-sharing is the subject of the Nagoya Protocol; endangered-species trade is covered by CITES.
Q5. The Cali Fund, which India supported at COP-17, is meant to collect contributions from users of: (a) digital sequence information on genetic resources (b) carbon credits from forest projects (c) fishing rights in the high seas (d) traditional medicine patents only
→ (a) The indicative rate is 1% of profits or 0.1% of revenue, and contributions are voluntary.
Q6. India's updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan sets out how many National Biodiversity Targets? (a) 20 (b) 23 (c) 30 (d) 142
→ (b) The 23 targets mirror the framework's 23 global targets; 142 is the number of indicators.
Q7. Which of the following big cats covered by the International Big Cat Alliance is NOT found in the wild in India? (a) Snow leopard (b) Leopard (c) Cheetah (d) Jaguar
→ (d) The jaguar and the puma live only in the Americas; the cheetah was reintroduced to India at Kuno in 2022.
Q8. India hosted the 11th Conference of the Parties to the CBD in 2012 at: (a) New Delhi (b) Bengaluru (c) Chennai (d) Hyderabad
→ (d) Chennai is the seat of the National Biodiversity Authority.
Q9. Consider the following pairs of bodies under India's Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and their level: 1. National Biodiversity Authority: Chennai 2. Biodiversity Management Committee: local body level Which of the pairs is/are correctly matched? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
→ (c) State Biodiversity Boards form the middle tier.
Q10. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted at COP-15 in December 2022 in: (a) Kunming (b) Nagoya (c) Montreal (d) Sharm el-Sheikh
→ (c) COP-15 opened in Kunming in 2021 but the framework was adopted at the second part in Montreal, under China's presidency.
📋 How this gets asked (PYQ pattern)
Environmental conventions are a steady part of the CDS General Knowledge paper. The questions follow a few fixed forms.
The first is the convention-and-subject match: which protocol deals with biosafety and which with benefit-sharing, or which convention covers wetlands, migratory species or trade in wildlife. Cartagena and Nagoya are the pair most often swapped.
The second is the venue-and-number question: where a COP was held. Watch the numbering. The CBD and the desertification convention both held a COP16 in 2024 and a COP17 in 2026, so check which convention the question names.
The third is the target question, and it is new since 2022. Expect a statement on "30x30" or on the finance figure, with the conserve-versus-restore swap as the trap.
The fourth uses India's own numbers: Ramsar sites, Biosphere Reserves in the UNESCO network, or the bodies under the Biological Diversity Act. Use the latest official count, because these figures change every few months.
At the SSB, a group discussion on "development versus environment" can use this meeting. India's argument is that biodiversity targets need money and technology as well as national plans, and the review's finding that fewer than half of national targets are on track supports it.
Preparing for CDS? Make one table of the Rio conventions and their protocols with years, and one of India's protected-area counts, and update the counts whenever a new figure is announced. Build the base with our CDS/OTA study material, follow the daily CDS current affairs, and train with serving-standard faculty in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
Source: PIB / Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, 27 October 2026; CBD Secretariat press release of 19 October 2026. Convention dates, framework targets, Cali Fund terms and NBSAP details cross-checked with the CBD, UN and independent reporting.
✍️ Written by Aditya Tiwari — Economy & current-affairs faculty at The Cavalier. Reviewed by the Cavalier Faculty Desk.