Kunming Declaration

Towards an Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All

Life on Earth
（Revised Zero Draft）

We, the Ministers and other heads of delegations, having met in person in Kunming,
Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China, and remotely, on 12 and 13 October
2021, on the occasion of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, and at the
invitation of the Government of the People's Republic of China,

Recalling the relevance of the 2050 Vision “Living in harmony with nature”,

Emphasizing that biodiversity, and the ecosystem functions and services it provides,
support all forms of life on Earth and underpin our human and planetary health and
well-being, economic growth and sustainable development,

Concerned that the ongoing loss of biodiversity jeopardizes achievement of the

Sustainable Development Goals,

Recognizing that progress has been made in the last decade, under the 2011-2020
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, but deeply concerned that such progress has been
insufficient to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets,

Acknowledging with grave concern that the unprecedented and interdependent crises
of biodiversity loss, climate change, land desertification, and increasing risks to human
health and food security, pose an existential threat to our society, our prosperity and
our planet,

Recognizing that these crises share many underlying drivers of change,

Acknowledging that indigenous peoples and local communities have contributed to the
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity through the application of traditional
knowledge, innovations and practices,

Stressing, therefore, that urgent and integrated action is needed across all sectors of
the economy and all parts of society, through policy coherence at all levels of
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government, and synergies across Conventions and multilateral organizations, to shape
a future path for nature and people, where biodiversity is conserved and used
sustainably, and its benefits are shared fairly and equitably, as an integral part of
sustainable development,

Noting that a combination of measures are needed to halt and reverse the decline of
biodiversity, including actions to enhance the conservation and restoration of
ecosystems, mitigate climate change, reduce pollution, control invasive alien species
and prevent overexploitation, as well as actions to ensure the sustainable production
of goods and services, and reduce consumption and waste, recognizing that none of
these measures alone, nor in partial combinations, is sufficient and that the effectiveness
of each measure is enhanced by the other,

Noting that this requires the building of an “Ecological Civilization”, whereby, Nature
is respected, “lucid waters and lush mountains” and all ecosystems are recognized and
protected as invaluable assets, promoting a harmonious relationship betweeneconomic
development and eco-environmental conservation,

Reaffirming the Cancun Declaration on Mainstreaming the Conservation and

Sustainable Use of Biodiversity for Well-Being and the Sharm el Sheikh Declaration
on Investing in Biodiversity for People and Planet, as well as the outcomes of the
2021 International Conference on Environmental Justice,

We declare that putting biodiversity on a path to recovery is a defining challenge of this

decade, in the context of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, requiring strong
political momentum to develop, adopt and implement, an effective post-2020 global
biodiversity framework,

We Commit to:
1. Ensure the negotiation, adoption and implementation of an effective post-
2020 global biodiversity framework, with provision of the means of
implementation, and appropriate mechanisms for monitoring, reporting and
review, to ensure that biodiversity is put on a path to recovery by 2030 at the
latest, towards the full realization of the 2050 Vision of “Living in Harmony
with Nature”;

2. Support the negotiation, adoption and implementation of an effective post-

2020 Implementation Plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety;

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3. Work across our governments to continue to promote the integration, or
“mainstreaming” of biodiversity values into decision-making as well as into
policies, regulations, planning processes, poverty reduction strategies, and
economic accounting and strengthen cross-sectoral coordinating mechanisms on
biodiversity;

4. Accelerate the development and update of the National Biodiversity

Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), and make halting biodiversity loss an
important goal of them；

5. Improve the effectiveness of area-based conservation and management

through establishing effective systems of protected areas and adopting other
effective area-based conservation measures, and protect wild species and reduce
or eliminate threats to biodiversity；

6. Actively advance the global environmental legal system that safeguards the
environmental rights and interests of human beings, establish a sound and strict
system of biodiversity laws and regulations, and conserve biodiversity with the
strictest legal system and the most stringent regulatory arrangements. Uphold
the principle of fair and equitable benefit-sharing, give play to the role of the
judiciary, severely crack down on the illegal trafficking and trade of wildlife,
advocate the use of diversified dispute resolution methods, and adopt preventive
and restorative judicial measures to ensure that wildlife is protected.;

7. Step up our efforts to ensure the fair and equitable benefit-sharing from the
use of genetic resources, including related traditional knowledge and in the
context of ongoing and emerging developments in technology;

8. Strengthen measures for the regulation, assessment and management of

emerging technologies and of the potential risks associated with the use and
release of living modified organisms;

9. Increase the application of Ecosystem-based Approaches or Nature-based

Solutions to address biodiversity loss, restore degraded ecosystems, boost
resilience, mitigate and adapt to climate change, support sustainable food
production, promote health, and contribute to other challenges, enhancing One
Health approaches and ensuring benefits across economic, social, and
environmental dimensions of sustainable development, through robust
safeguards for environmental and social protection,

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 10. Ensure that post-COVID recovery policies, programmes and plans
contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, to promote
green development pathways that tap ecological potential for economic
strengths with equitable and inclusive employment opportunities;

11. Work with ministries of finance and economy to reform incentive

structures, phase out or reform subsidies and other incentives that are harmful
to biodiversity, mobilize additional financial resources, and align all financial
flows in support of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and in
particular to increase the provision of financial, technological and capacity
building support to developing countries;

12. Encourage indigenous peoples and local communities, women, youth, civil
society, local governments and authorities, academia, the business and financial
sectors, and other relevant stakeholders to make their voluntary commitments
available on the Sharm el Sheikh to Kunming Action Agendafor Nature and
People, and to continue to build the momentum for the implementation of the
post 2020 global biodiversity framework;

13. Further enhance collaboration and coordinate actions with ongoing

multilateral environmental agreements, such as the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification, as well as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and
other related international processes, to promote synergistic approaches for the
protection, conservation, sustainable management and restoration of terrestrial
ecosystems and habitats, while contributing to other sustainable development
goals, aligned to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

[This Declaration will be submitted to the General Assembly of United Nations, the
2022 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, and the 6th United
Nations Environment Assembly.]

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