Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

Also called: GBF · Topic: Biodiversity and its Conservation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF or GBF) is the world's plan to stop nature loss. It was adopted at CBD COP15 in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022, with China as president. It has 4 goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030.

• It replaces the Aichi Targets (2011–2020), and most of those were missed.
• It is now the main yardstick for every country's biodiversity policy, including India's.

Explanation

Where it comes from

• Parent treaty: the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a legally binding treaty. It was opened for signature at the Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro, in June 1992, and came into force on 29 December 1993.
• COP (Conference of the Parties): the meeting of all member countries. It is the CBD's top decision-making body. The KMGBF was adopted at its 15th meeting, COP15.
• The name: "Kunming" refers to the Chinese city linked to China's presidency of COP15. "Montreal" is the city where the plan was adopted. Montreal is also home to the CBD Secretariat.
• Why a new plan was needed:
• The older Aichi Targets (2011–2020) were mostly missed.
• So the world needed a fresh plan with clearer numbers for 2030.

How it is built

• 2050 vision: "living in harmony with nature".
• 4 goals for 2050: the long-term outcomes.
• 23 targets for 2030: the near-term actions that lead to those goals.
• Key targets:

Target	What it says
Target 2	Restore at least 30% of degraded ecosystems: land, inland water, coastal and marine
Target 3: "30 by 30"	Effectively conserve at least 30% of land, inland waters, coastal areas and oceans by 2030
Target 6	Halve the rate at which invasive alien species (plants or animals brought from elsewhere that spread and harm local life) are introduced and become established
Target 18	Cut harmful subsidies (government payments that damage nature) by at least US$ 500 billion a year
Target 19	Raise at least US$ 200 billion a year for biodiversity from all sources

The "30 by 30" target explained

• What counts towards the 30%:
• Formal protected areas, such as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

• OECMs (other effective area-based conservation measures): areas outside formal protected areas that still conserve nature. Examples are sacred groves, community forests and some defence lands.

• People's rights: the rights of Indigenous peoples and their traditional lands must be respected.

• The sea problem:
• About two-thirds of the ocean is high seas, which means it lies beyond any country's control.
• So no single country can protect it.
• The 30% at sea can only be reached through the High Seas Treaty, which allows marine protected areas to be set up there.

How countries carry it out

• Each country turns the global targets into a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), a national plan of goals and actions.
• India's NBSAP:
• India submitted it on 31 October 2024 at COP16, Cali, Colombia [1].
• It covers 2024–2030. Its aim is to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, with the same 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature [1].
• It has 23 national targets, matched to the KMGBF's 4 goals and 23 targets [1].

• 23 ministries helped prepare it. It focuses on ecosystem restoration, species recovery, protecting wetlands and coasts, and better biodiversity governance [1][2].

• Money follow-up:

• COP16 (Cali, October–November 2024) created the Cali Fund.
• Industries that profit from digital sequence information (DSI) must pay into it. DSI means genetic codes from organism samples that are stored and shared digitally. The main industries are pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and agriculture [3].
• At least half of the Cali Fund is meant for Indigenous peoples and local communities [3].
• Finance talks stalled, so the session resumed in Rome, 25–27 February 2025 [4].

Where it occurs

• Global: it applies to all Parties to the CBD, which is almost every country. The USA has signed but not ratified the CBD, so it is not a Party.
• Montreal, Canada: where COP15 adopted the framework in December 2022. The CBD Secretariat is also here.
• China: held the COP15 presidency, which is where the name "Kunming" comes from.
• Cali, Colombia: COP16 (2024) was the first big review after the KMGBF. India submitted its NBSAP here, and the Cali Fund was created [1][3].
• Rome, Italy: COP16 resumed here in February 2025 to agree on how to raise money for biodiversity [4].
• Armenia: COP17 is due here in 2026.
• India:
• The NBSAP 2024–2030 brings the plan home, with 23 ministries taking part [1][2].
• It is carried out through the three-level system of the Biological Diversity Act: the National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards and local Biodiversity Management Committees.

• OECM-type areas that can count towards 30 by 30: sacred groves such as the devrais (Maharashtra), kavus (Kerala) and sarnas (Jharkhand), community reserves and Joint Forest Management areas.

• High seas: about two-thirds of the ocean. Protection here depends on the High Seas Treaty.

Don't confuse with

• Aichi Targets (2011–2020): the older CBD plan, and most of its targets were missed. The KMGBF (2022) replaced it with 23 targets for 2030.
• Convention on Biological Diversity (1992): the legally binding parent treaty, signed at Rio. The KMGBF is a plan adopted at a COP of that treaty, not a separate treaty.
• Nagoya Protocol (2010 / 2014) and Cartagena Protocol (2000 / 2003): these are protocols, meaning extra agreements on one narrow issue. Nagoya deals with access and benefit-sharing, and Cartagena deals with biosafety of LMOs. The KMGBF is a broad target plan covering all of biodiversity.
• Target 2 vs Target 3: Target 2 means restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems. Target 3 means conserving 30% of land, inland waters, coasts and oceans. Both use "30%", and that is the trap.

Prelims Hooks

• The KMGBF was adopted at CBD COP15, Montreal, December 2022, with China as president. It has 4 goals (2050) and 23 targets (2030).
• Target 3 = "30 by 30" (conserve 30% of land, inland waters, coasts and oceans). Target 2 = restore 30% of degraded ecosystems. Target 6 = halve the introduction and establishment of invasive alien species.
• Money targets: Target 19 = raise US$ 200 billion a year. Target 18 = cut harmful subsidies by US$ 500 billion a year.
• OECMs (for example sacred groves and community forests) can count towards 30 by 30. Trap: the target is not limited to national parks.
• India's NBSAP 2024–2030 was submitted on 31 October 2024 at COP16, Cali. It has 23 national targets that match the KMGBF [1].
• The Cali Fund (COP16, 2024) collects money from users of digital sequence information, and at least half goes to Indigenous peoples and local communities [3].

Mains Points

• 30 by 30 needs people, not just fences (GS-III).
• India cannot reach 30% through national parks and sanctuaries alone.
• OECMs such as sacred groves, community reserves and Joint Forest Management areas can fill the gap, as long as community rights are respected.

• This matches NCERT's point that local people must take part and that conservation must keep going over time. India's NBSAP 2024–2030 turns the 23 global targets into national action across 23 ministries [1][2].

• Money decides whether it succeeds.

• Target 19's US$ 200 billion a year depends heavily on rich countries paying.
• Disputes over this money stalled COP16, which had to resume in Rome in 2025 [4].

• The Cali Fund links the KMGBF to fair benefit-sharing. This matters for a megadiverse country like India, which has a lot of documented traditional knowledge [3].

• The global system still has gaps.

• The USA is outside the CBD.
• The Aichi Targets were mostly missed, which shows how hard it is to put plans into action.
• 30% protection at sea depends on the High Seas Treaty, because about two-thirds of the ocean lies beyond any country's control.

Related concepts

• Biodiversity conservation
• In situ conservation
• Ex situ conservation
• World Conservation Strategy
• Convention on Biological Diversity
• Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
• Nagoya Protocol
• 30 by 30 target
• CITES
• Convention on Migratory Species

Read more

• Conservation strategies and the global regime: in situ, ex situ, CBD and its offspring