EVENTS
IPSI at CBD COP17
2026.09.23
The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) will take place in Yerevan, Armenia, from 19 to 30 October 2026. The conference will bring together governments, Indigenous Peoples, businesses, youth, civil society, academia, observer organizations and the general public for the first Global Review of Collective Progress on implementing the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Discussions will focus on halting biodiversity loss, sustainable management of natural resources, ecosystem restoration, the links between climate change and biodiversity, and strengthening finance and international cooperation.
IPSI will be present at COP17 through side events showcasing how socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) and community-led action can contribute to implementing the GBF.
Side Events
Side events take place at the Blue Zone and are open to conference participants. Below is a list of side events organized by IPSI members.
Event information will be updated as more details become available.
Collective Land Rights Are Women’s Land Rights: Key Findings from a Study on Gender Justice in Collective Land Rights Settings
This side event will explore the importance of advancing women’s land rights in collective contexts. It will present findings from a study drawing on interviews with Indigenous women and other women collective rightsholders from around the world, examining how collective tenure systems shape women’s access to, use of and decision-making over land and natural resources. The event will highlight the importance of protecting women’s collective territorial rights for the successful implementation of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
Time: 19 October 2026, 18:15
Location: Bjini Room, Blue Zone
Organizers: Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), partners and co-hosts
Interpretation: English and Spanish
Online: UN Web TV
Launching Local Biodiversity Outlooks 3: Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities at the Centre of GBF Implementation
This event will launch Local Biodiversity Outlooks 3, which draws on case studies from Indigenous Peoples and local communities across diverse regions and cultures to showcase their contributions to implementing the GBF. The discussion will explore what different actors can do to enable Indigenous Peoples and local communities to effectively participate in and implement biodiversity policy.
Time: 20 October 2026, 18:15
Location: Bjini Room, Blue Zone
Organizers: Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), partners and co-hosts
Interpretation: English, Spanish and French
Online: UN Web TV
People, Culture and Biodiversity: Advancing Area-based Conservation Potential in Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes (SEPLS)
This side event will explore how SEPLS can advance area-based conservation outcomes and the goals of the GBF. Since its launch at CBD COP10 in 2010, IPSI has focused on conservation outcomes in SEPLS, some of which are already designated as protected areas, contribute to sustainable agriculture, fisheries and restoration, or may be recognized as other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs). As OECM recognition requires assessment against criteria consistent with the relevant CBD decision, the event will discuss how areas where people and nature interact in mutually reinforcing ways can support more effective and inclusive conservation.
Time: 20 October 2026, 18:15–19:45
Location: Aparan – JUSCANZ Meeting Room, Meridian Exhibition Center
Organizers: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN-WCPA); UNU-IAS; Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD); Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ); and UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme.
More details are available on the UNU-IAS website.
Community-Based Monitoring of Biodiversity and Human Rights: The Indigenous Navigator’s Biodiversity Module
Drawing on experiences from Colombia, Kenya, the Philippines and Thailand, this event will highlight how Indigenous Peoples are using community-based monitoring to generate data and complement national and global reporting. The event will also launch the Indigenous Navigator’s Biodiversity Module, a tailored tool for generating data on the implementation of the GBF.
Time: 22 October 2026, 16:30
Location: Talin Room, Blue Zone
Organizers: Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), partners and co-hosts
Interpretation: English and Spanish
Online: UN Web TV
Advancing the GBF through Local Action: Insights from COMDEKS Phase 4 and the Satoyama Initiative
Drawing on the experience of technical experts and field practitioners, this side event will highlight how the Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative (COMDEKS), a flagship programme of IPSI, contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and key GBF targets. The event will showcase locally led solutions to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, and discuss the links between local economic development, resilience and ecosystem restoration.
Time: 26 October 2026, 13:15–14:15
Location: Spitak – Side Event Room 2, Meridian Exhibition Center
Organizers: Keidanren Nature Conservation Council (KNCC); Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD); Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ); UNU-IAS; IPSI Secretariat; and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
More details are available on the UNU-IAS website.
Towards Understanding the True Cost of Governance in Integrated Landscape Approaches
Drawing from empirical evidence from landscape actors across different regions, the event will demonstrate the challenges posed by inadequate investment in landscape governance. Drawing on evidence from IPSI members, the 1000 Landscapes for a Billion People Initiative and the Model Forest Network, the event will show that coordination, facilitation and stakeholders’ volunteered time and expertise are routinely undervalued. The event will offer lessons for policymakers, donors, academia and practitioners on investment orchestration and enabling conditions for landscape governance.
Time: 28 October 2026, 14:30–15:30
Location: Food and Agriculture Pavilion (hosted by CGIAR), Meridian Exhibition Center
Organizers: UNU-IAS; CGIAR; IPSI; EcoAgriculture Partners; the 1000 Landscapes for a Billion People Initiative; Persimmon Co-Lab; the United Nations Development Programme; the Yolda Initiative; the Club of Rome; BiodivEarth; the Asian Development Bank; PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency; NBSAP Accelerator Partnership; the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
More details are available on the UNU-IAS website.
Green Zone
The Green Zone will serve as an open and publicly accessible platform that brings together innovative ideas, community initiatives, and practical solutions for environmental protection. It is designed for a broad audience, including young people, civil society organizations, the scientific and academic community, artists, innovators, media representatives, and all interested members of the public.
Event information will be updated as more details become available.
Financing Nature with Integrity: Building High-Integrity Biodiversity Credit Markets for the Global South
Biodiversity finance should pay for real, measurable ecological change. To do that, finance needs to respect rights, attract investors, be independently verified and return value to the people who look after biodiversity-rich landscapes. This session will look at what is still missing to turn biodiversity ambitions into credible finance.
Time: 22 October 2026, 17:45–19:15 AMT
Location: Main Stage, Green Zone
Organizers: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Value Network Ventures (VNV)
Other Sessions and Activities
A Reckoning of Subsidies and Incentives that Impact Socio-Ecological Resilience at the Level of Local Implementation
This event will examine how subsidies and incentives affect socio-ecological resilience at the local implementation level, contributing to the implementation of Target 18 of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Through presentations and an interactive discussion, speakers from international organizations, the private sector and non-governmental organizations will explore the opportunities and constraints associated with positive and negative incentives and their implications for conservation and development outcomes at local scales.
Time: 23 October 2026, 18:00–19:30 AMT
Location: Academic and Research Hub, Action Zone, Meridian Exhibition Center
Organizers: UNU-IAS and International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS)
More information: UNU-IAS event page
Workshop: Funding for Sustainable Landscape Governance
This CBD COP17 workshop will explore funding gaps and opportunities to strengthen investment in integrated landscape governance.
Time: 24 October 2026, 18:00–19:30 AMT
Location: Science-Policy Forum for Biodiversity, Blue Zone
Organizers: UNU-IAS
More details available on the UNU-IAS website.