COP17: Which countries have released new pledges to tackle nature loss?

National biodiversity strategies and action plans, or NBSAPs, are countries’ main national planning documents for addressing biodiversity loss. They explain what a country intends to achieve and how it will work towards those goals. Their importance comes from turning the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework into country-level commitments.

NBSAPs contain national biodiversity targets alongside plans for achieving them. The article contrasts them with national targets alone, which simply list goals without an accompanying plan. Countries can therefore use NBSAPs to connect goals with practical action, such as restoring ecosystems or addressing climate change.

The plans also support international monitoring. The UN’s global report draws on NBSAPs and national targets before countries conduct a global review at COP17. So far, 113 of 196 parties have submitted new NBSAPs. The remaining countries are being urged to publish them as soon as possible, especially as the 2030 deadline approaches.

Carbon Brief analysis found that 113 of the 196 parties have now produced new national biodiversity strategies and action plans. That equals 58% of the countries covered by the analysis. These plans are the main national route for showing how countries will address biodiversity loss and pursue the global framework’s 2030 mission.

Progress has accelerated since the previous count. Only 55 nations had submitted new NBSAPs a year earlier. The increase includes many African countries, such as Algeria, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya? No—Kenya is not listed, while countries including Rwanda, Senegal and Zimbabwe are included. Brazil, Belize and Chile also released plans.

However, 42% of parties still have not submitted new NBSAPs. Countries agreed at COP16 to release them “as soon as possible” after only 15% met the original deadline. COP17 will therefore assess progress while national planning remains incomplete.

COP17 matters because it marks the halfway point of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Nearly every country agreed to this framework in 2022. Its central mission is to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, using 23 targets covering ecosystems, climate change and finance for developing nations.

The summit will host the first global review of progress towards those targets. A UN-coordinated global report will inform that review. It draws on countries’ NBSAPs, national targets and seventh national reports, creating a shared picture of what countries have promised and reported.

This review will show how much progress can be measured and where gaps remain. So far, 113 parties have submitted new NBSAPs, 175 have produced national targets and 73% have submitted seventh national reports. Countries will gather in Yerevan, Armenia, for COP17 next week.

Four megadiverse countries have not yet published new national biodiversity strategies and action plans: Papua New Guinea, Peru, South Africa and the United States. Megadiverse countries account for the majority of Earth’s species, so their planning status is especially significant for the global biodiversity effort.

Russia has also not produced a new NBSAP. The article identifies it as the country with the most land on Earth. The United States has an additional distinction: it is the only UN member country that is not a signatory to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

Their absence means the global set of detailed national plans remains incomplete. The article does not state why each country has not submitted a plan. It does show broader progress: 113 of 196 parties have now produced NBSAPs, while countries were urged to submit remaining plans as soon as possible.

A biodiversity target states what a country wants to achieve, but an NBSAP explains how it plans to achieve it. If countries stop at targets, commitments may lack practical steps, coordination and a clear route to implementation. That matters because the global framework aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

The article gives a direct comparison. National targets simply list biodiversity goals, while NBSAPs include an accompanying plan. The UN’s global report uses countries’ NBSAPs and national targets to assess progress. Detailed plans therefore provide more information about national approaches than targets alone.

If plans remain missing, the global review may have less evidence about how countries are acting. The article does not claim a specific consequence for nature from failing to publish an NBSAP. It does show that 113 of 196 parties have plans, while countries were urged to submit the rest as soon as possible.

Some developing countries have struggled to publish NBSAPs because they lacked available funding. Preparing a national plan requires countries to set targets and develop the approach for meeting them. The article reports that many developing countries said financial constraints prevented them from completing this work.

International funding is intended to remove that barrier. The Global Environment Facility, or GEF, is a multilateral fund that provides money to help countries prepare NBSAPs. Its support is designed to help governments move from biodiversity commitments towards detailed national plans.

The response is progressing but is not complete. In 2025, the GEF said 120 of 139 countries that had requested financial support since COP16 had accessed it. The UN Environment Programme was working to resolve outstanding issues for the remaining 19 countries. Continued access to finance could help more countries publish plans before future progress reviews.

Biodiversity loss means a decline in the variety and abundance of living species, genes and ecosystems. It matters because ecosystems support the natural systems on which human societies depend. The article frames the challenge through the global mission to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework contains 23 targets addressing issues such as ecosystem restoration and climate change. It also includes finance for developing nations to help cover the costs of protecting nature. These linked areas show that biodiversity is treated as an environmental and social priority.

Countries are building national plans to respond. So far, 113 of 196 parties have submitted new NBSAPs, while 175 have produced at least one national target. COP17 will provide the first global review of progress. The article does not list specific human benefits, but it makes clear that reversing nature decline is the framework’s central 2030 mission.