(Continuation) Opening Plenary: UN Convention on Biodiversity - COP 17

Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. We now resume the meeting of MOP 6 of the Nagoya Protocol. And we'll now take up item 5, report of the Compliance Committee. And I would like to invite Elzbieta Martinuk, Chair of the Compliance Committee under the Nagoya Protocol, to provide a report on this item. Ms. Martyniuk, you have the floor. Please give the microphone to Poland. Poland, please push the button.

Thank you very much. Mr. President, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of my fellow members of the Compliance Committee under the Nagoya Protocol, I am pleased to take the floor in my capacity as Chair to introduce the report of the Committee, which can be found in document CBD/NP/MOP/6/3. I would like to provide an overview of the work done by the committee and bring some of the points in the committee's report to your kind attention. The committee held its fifth meeting in May 2026 and considered several substantive matters, including a number of general issues of compliance. As part of this discussion, The Committee reviewed compliance with the obligation to submit a first national report on the implementation of the Protocol. The Committee welcomed the high rate of submission of first national reports and expressed its appreciation for the capacity-building efforts undertaken by the Secretariat in collaboration with UNEP and the JEF to support Parties to prepare and submit their reports. I am pleased to note that additional parties have submitted their reports since the committee's meeting, and parties that have not yet done so are encouraged to submit their reports, as the committee will continue to follow up on this matter. The committee also reviewed progress by parties in adopting measures on access and benefit sharing, establishing institutional arrangements required by the protocol, and publishing available information in the ABS clearinghouse. As reflected in the recommendation before this meeting, progress has been made, but further efforts are needed. Accordingly, the Committee recommended that the Chair send reminder letters to Parties concerning their obligations in this regard. The Committee also provided input on elements of the second assessment and review of the effectiveness of the Nagoya Protocol related to compliance in the form of key findings and messages and indicative actions that could be taken to enhance the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. These key findings, messages and actions are contained in Annex 2 to the report of the meeting and were transmitted to the seventh meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation and informed the draft decision recommended to this meeting. Mr. President, the Committee's recommendations to the Meeting of the Parties are reflected in the compilation of draft decisions. I understand the substance of the recommendation will be considered under the relevant items in Working Group 1, and I look forward to hearing the Meeting's deliberation in this regard. Allow me to conclude, Mr. President, by recalling that the regional groups have been invited to come to this meeting prepared to nominate five members, one per region, to be elected to the Compliance Committee under the Nagoya Protocol by the MOOP for a four-year term each. The regions are also encouraged to identify alternates to be elected by the MOOP in case a member resigns or is unable to complete their term of office. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the members of the Compliance Committee during our last meeting. The committee considered a broad range of complex issues related to the implementation of the protocol, and I am very grateful for the constructive engagement and collaborative spirit that characterised its work. As it is my last term serving the Committee, I would like to thank fellow Committee members for their support and commitment to advancing implementation of the Protocol. It has been indeed an honour to serve as Chair of the Compliance Committee. The Committee plays an important role in supporting the implementation of the Protocol. Its members serve in their personal capacity, not as party representatives, which enables the Committee to provide neutral advice to facilitate compliance with the Protocol. The engagement of parties is vital to the Committee's ability to undertake its supportive role effectively. As new members are elected at this meeting, I am confident that the Committee will continue to build on progress achieved today and contribute to promoting implementation and compliance under the Protocol. Thank you very much for your kind attention. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Ms. Martyniuk, for your report. Delegates are reminded that substantive matters arising from the report of Compliance Committee will be referred to the relevant agenda items in Working Group 1 for consideration. More specifically, the recommendations in section 1 of annex will be considered under agenda item 5, report of the Compliance Committee. The recommendations in section 2 of annex 1 will be considered under agenda item 7 on monitoring and reporting. The recommendations in section 3 of annex 1 will be considered under agenda item 10 on financial mechanism and resources. Further to the notification issued by the Secretary on 8 September 2026, five seats on the Committee, one per region, are up for election. at this meeting for a four-year term from 1st January 2027 to 31st December 2030. On Friday 23 October we will elect the five members of the compliance committee accordingly and I therefore remind each region to identify their respective nominees and submit the names and CVs to the secretariat. I recall that members of the Compliance Committee serve in their personal capacity and are to have recognized competence, including technical, legal, or scientific expertise in the fields covered by the Nagoya Protocol, such as genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources. Each region is also invited to nominate an alternate to be elected by the CoPMoP. This alternates are in case a member or observer resigns from the committee or is unable to complete their term of office. I now adjourn the meeting of MOP 6. And we now resume the joint plenary of COP 17, MOP 12, and MOP 6. Distinguished delegates, I would now like to turn to item 7. of COP 17, item 6 of COP/MOP 12, and item 6 of COP/MOP 6. Report of the Executive Secretary on administration of the Convention and the Protocols and budget for the trust funds. The report proposes consideration and adoption of a budget for the programs of work of the Convention and the Protocols for the biennium 2027-2028. I invite you to consider the report of the Executive Secretary contained in documents CBD/CP/17/4, CBD/CP/MOB/12/5 and CBD/MP/MOB/6/5. I would now like to invite the Executive Secretary, Ms. Astrid Schromacher, to report on the activities of the Secretariat and introduce the proposed budget for the biennium 2027-2028. Ms. Schromacher, you have the floor, please.

Thank you, Mr. President and distinguished delegates. It is my pleasure to introduce the proposed budget for the programme. Programmes of work of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing for the biennium 2027-2028, as well as the report on the income and budget performance for the Convention and the Protocols for the biennium 2025-2026. These are contained in, respectively, documents COP 17/4 and COP 17/3, which were previously submitted to the seventh meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation for information. They also have, as you may have seen, associated document symbols for the meetings of the parties of the Protocols, of course. Now, the budget proposal submitted for your consideration presents zero nominal growth and zero real growth scenarios for the integrated programmes of work and budget for the period 2027 to 2028. In addition, the document includes a third scenario reflecting the Secretariat's proposal, which considers the recommendations of the functional review to address staffing shortages, strengthen service delivery, and ensure the Secretariat can sustain its core functions and effectively meet the needs of the Parties, in particular in your implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The overall resources for the biennium 2027-2028 in the zero nominal growth scenario amount to 44.4 million US dollars, while the zero real growth scenario brings us to 46.2 million US dollars, reflecting a net increase of 4% compared with the approved core budget for the current biennium. The Secretariat's proposed scenario amounts to 49.5 million US dollars, which reflects a further 7% increase in real terms. Then, in response to decision 16/28, paragraph 38, the Secretariat also prepared document 17/Add.2, which provides information on the financial implications of activities proposed in the draft recommendations and decisions submitted to the Conference of the Parties to the Convention and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the parties to the Cartagena Protocol and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the parties to The progress report on the audit recommendations is presented in document 17/4/3. The 2025 report of the Board of Auditors for UNEP has recently been published. As part of the assessment, the audit noted that considerable progress has been made in addressing the pending outstanding audit recommendation related to the Secretariat for 2024 and prior years. Accordingly, the recommendation is considered implemented, with no prior-year outstanding audit recommendations remaining. In response to the views and comments received at SBI 7, the Secretariat has provided additional information to complement the documents on the administration of the Convention and its protocols and the proposed budget for the biennium 2027-2028, as contained in document 17/4/85. Distinguished delegates, in decision 1534, paragraph 35, and decision 1628, paragraph 11, the Conference of the Parties requested the Secretariat to undertake an external in-depth functional review of the Secretariat in consultation with the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program. The Subsidiary Body on Implementation, at its sixth meeting, took note of the executive summary of the report on the external in-depth functional review of the Secretariat, and also noted the ongoing consultations on those recommendations within the Secretariat and with the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties. The recommendation of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation has been reproduced in document COP.17/2, the famous compilation of draft decisions for this meeting. The Secretariat provided to the Subsidiary Body on Implementation at its seventh meeting a progress report on the implementation of the recommendations of the functional review, as also contained in document 17/4/4. In response to the views and comments received at SBI 7, the Secretariat has provided additional information on the functional review of the Secretariat, as contained in document 17/4/1. The Secretariat stands ready to provide any further information to support the consideration by the COP on this matter at this meeting. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Executive Secretary. In accordance with established practice, I would now like to invite the Conference of the Parties to establish a contact group on budget. After consultation with the Bureau, I have requested Ms. Gillian Gutierrez of Jamaica to chair this contact group. The contact group will have the mandate to consider in detail the proposed budget for the 2027-2028 BNU. The contact group on budget, open to all parties, will meet informally at the invitation of the chair and meetings will be listed in advance in a daily calendar of meetings. And can I take it that this proposal is acceptable? Thank you, colleagues. The contact group will have its first meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, 20 October, at 10 a.m. in the budget contact group room on the upper floor of this building. As usual, please consult the Convention websites for the latest information on the meeting schedule. And as I see no objection, it is so decided. Distinguished delegates, this concludes our work in plenary for today. Delegates are advised that the next plenary is planned for the evening of Friday 23 October to take stock of our progress, elect the Bureau and other officers, and adopt any decisions on any completed agenda items. We'll also return to the matter of election of officers during our plenary session on Friday, including the election of the members of the compliance committees under the two protocols. I urge all regional groups to submit their nominations by close of business on Wednesday, 21 October. On Friday, I will invite each region to announce its nominees with the intention of conducting the elections by acclamation during that session. And before closing, if secretariat has any new updates.

Thank you, Mr. President. The two working group will commence their work immediately, considering about five minutes to move to other rooms for the case of working group two. So working group one will meet in this room, and working group two will meet in the hall next door. As a general note, it is important to keep an eye on the meeting schedule on the screen, the website of CBD and the CBD event app for updated information on timing and room allocation. Thank you.

Thank you, Deputy Executive Secretary. The joint plenary meeting of COP 17, COP MOP 12 and COP MOP 6 is adjourned.