Plenary (3rd meeting), UN Convention on Biodiversity – COP 17

Welcome to the Sevan plenary. I'm not used to this plenary. The other one is much bigger, I think it's much nicer with Arghat Mountain, but still Lake Sevan surrounding us. It's also nice scenery for us. Please take your seats. Before we begin our work this evening, it is my pleasure to introduce five young biodiversity ambassadors who are students from South Africa. Their journey began with South Africa's flagship celebration of International Day for Biological Diversity, a historic first for SIBIDI party to host a global event of this nature. Today, that journey has brought them from their community in the Sedibang district to the global stage at COP17. Let's welcome these inspiring young ambassadors.

Yet only moments for us to destroy it, and still, the heartbeat of our planet grows weaker. Now, the question is, will we listen before the last heartbeat fades? Biodiversity, wait! Where we come from there is a saying: We cannot begin a conversation without first offering a greeting. So, before we speak for the forest that cannot stand at this podium, Before we speak for the oceans that cannot write petitions, before we speak for the wildlife whose silence echoes louder than our voices, distinguished delegates, we greet you. We knock at the high gates of Yerevan. We say, lend us your ears under the gates of Mount Ararat, hear this lamentation from the heart of Africa, a crying song for the destruction of our Earth, a crying song for the destruction of our Earth. With these words, we raise our warning. Oh, sons and daughters of Mama Planet Earth, take in the warmth of wisdom, let these words quench your spirit like pure water. Drink deeply. Now, let's take Take it back to South Africa. How can you harm what sustains you? To destroy the living soil is to destroy the creature, the plant, and the soul of nature itself. From the valleys of Africa to the peak of Mount Ararat. Hey, global assembly, you, the custodians of nations, refuse to destroy bio-diversity. Now, battle up, battle up as you renew along this educational journey. Listen, listen closely as you capture the long stories and renew the core of truth. Look at the sweetness of what has been written for us. We speak of the sacred mosaic, the variety of all living things. We say it again, and we proclaim it to the nations. We speak for every kind of life born of nature. We, the poet who roars like thunder, while forests whisper dying pleas. We separate truth from prisoner's lies and lay them bare beneath the trees. Ma twafo ama greba greba mo ya udit tila tila We say it again, lands full of damage, polluted by the air we breathe. The earth now weeps through silent rivers, her wounded land suffocates through the air. A tree once green has been twisted dry, while humans reap her branches bare. Oh, nations of the world, listen! Listen, the world is crying. She cries to the mountains, where broken oceans mourn the shore, but hope still blooms like stubborn flowers. Truth will heal the earth once more. Because, somewhere tonight, a bass sings its final song with no audience to hear it. Somewhere, an ocean gasps for breath beneath blankets of plastic. Somewhere, a child looks at a photograph of an animal already gone forever and asks, "Why? Why didn't no one save them?" What answer shall we give them? Will we say, "We were too busy, too distracted, too comfortable." No, ka chebo! Yes, we all know where there is smoke, there is fire. We must rise higher than excuses. We must become the generation that refuses to let the world crumble quietly. Listen to our plea. Let us stay vigilant. From the rising of the sun to its setting, can you hear the way we speak, feeling as though our dreams are evaporating. I look into the waters and I see the dark bank, red and green with pollution and waste, papers and plastics floating, bending our waters away. We try running to the east where the sun rises. Oh my Lord, our forests are cut down, our animal's habitat is perishing, our ecosystem is vanishing. and our biodiversity is demolishing. Now, now where do we run to? How can we forget that biodiversity is not a luxury, it is life itself. But still, people continue cutting forests As if money can replace oxygen, polluting rivers. As if humanity can drink poison forever, destroying oceans. As if the sea does not carry life itself. One day, we, we as children, will grow up in a world slowly forgetting how nature was made. A child will stand where a forest once lived and ask, why did they destroy something so beautiful? And what will be said? That greed was more important than life? That convenience mattered more than the future? That humanity knew the planet was dying, but chose silence? What? Chose silence, forgetting that biodiversity is not only about plants and animals, but the air in our lungs, the water in our bodies, the food on our tables, the rain that our farmers pray for. Without nature, humanity cannot survive. It can cause disasters. Sis Tola, Sis Ukungu, Sis Duduza, Wokuthula, Amakhuba. Oh, nations of the world, we will fight ourselves, drawing out the pain within our hearts, soothing our grief through songs of praise, comforting our souls in sacred truth. For we forget that nature can also get angry. We say it, nature can also get angry. Rescue us from the peril of the world's distraction. there is still time. Honor the Earth before we turn into scattering dust. With that, remember, biodiversity is the rain kissing dry African soil. It is the mighty baobab tree standing like an elder guarding the wisdom of generations. Oh, we global ambassadors for biodiversity, we are calling seven continents with five tiny voices, thousand cultures, and million choices. From the sunny the peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains to the winding Mbopo River, from the wild-stretching coastlines of Mozambique to the dry, vast, golden lands of Botswana and Namibia, nature is calling us. And today, our call reaches across continents, from the dusty plains of Africa to the ancient stones of Yerevan, under the silent, watchful gaze of Mount Ararat. We bring the heartbeat of South Africa to the halls of COP70. Citizens of Europe, Asians, Americans, Africans, and Australians, listen! The same wind that blows over the baobab tree now rustles the leaves of Armenia. Nature is not calling South Africa alone. Nature is calling us all. And in every language, the message is the same. The message is the same. Umkhamba uyakhala. The earth is crying. The earth is our life. Nature is our life. Nature is our life. Nature is our life. The land is weeping, the land is weeping. But still, oceans are destroyed as if there is another planet waiting for us. There is no planet B. This earth is our only home. We cannot inherit the earth from our ancestors and destroy it before passing it on. Because when forests burn, part of us burns too. Something inside humanity disappears with them, whereby your diversity dies, humanity dies lonely beside it. Haila in! Wake up before that song becomes silence, wake up before green forest becomes ashes, wake up before green berries, the last living one dies beneath concrete and smoke, because technology cannot resurrect extinction, because technology cannot resurrect extinction, money cannot create another rainforest, And power means nothing on a dying planet. We need courage now. The courage to plant trees on whose land we may never sit beneath. The courage to protect rivers we did not pollute. The courage to speak for creatures that cannot speak for themselves. Let every school become a seed of change. Let every classroom become a battlefield where ignorance is defeated by knowledge. Let every learner become a warrior for life. Because Global impact begins locally. It begins with one child. I said, one child picking a plastic from a river, one community planting trees, one teacher educating young minds, and one voice refusing silence. How can we not realize that a seed becomes a forest, a drop becomes an ocean, a voice becomes a movement? And our movement begins now. Not tomorrow. Now. Now is the time. Time to preach. Time to teach. Time to take. Now is the time to defend the fragile beauty of this world. Now is the time to protect bio-diversity before it becomes memory. Now is the time to stand together across races, languages, cultures, and nations for one shared home. Because the sky has no borders. The wind belongs to everyone. The rain does not choose nations before falling. We are one human family beneath the same heaven, and if we stand united, change is possible. We dream of a beautiful planet Earth. We dream of a beautiful planet Earth. We dream of a beautiful planet Earth, where biodiversity is our priority. Imagine rivers Imagine forests dancing in the wind again. Imagine children waking up to bird songs instead of warnings about extinction. Imagine humanity remembered not as destroyers, but as restorers. That future is still possible, but only if we act. Act with courage. Act with urgency. Act with compassion. Act for global impact. And one day, when future generations walk beside us, beneath green trees, when oceans sparkle under his eyes, when animals roam freely across thriving lands, they will remember us, not for what we destroyed, but for what we saved. The earth will breathe again, the rivers will sing again, the forests will dance again, and humanity will finally understand that protecting biodiversity was never just about saving nature. It was about saving ourselves. Thank you.

Thank you. That was perfect, thank you very much. It went much smoother than our negotiations. But we'll get there. Thank you to our young ambassadors for reminding us that they are essential partners in delivering biodiversity commitments. Thank you very much again. Excellencies, dear delegates, now let us begin our work for the evening. We have just concluded our high-level ministerial segment, which was held over the past two days, and I am pleased to inform delegates that there was strong engagement by the ministers, and we will hear updates on this work during this session in a moment. But first, I will provide an overview of the work before us this evening, as we have a number of issues to address. We'll start with information on the outcomes of the high-level segment. We will then hear a report on credentials, followed by a report from chair of the contact group on budget and reports from the chairs of the working groups. After that, we'll take up the L documents that are ready for adoption, followed by the election of officers. We'll then address item 5, date and venue of future meetings of the Conference of the Parties. And before we begin, however, I would like to acknowledge with profound sadness the passing of Ms. Martha Kandava-Schulz of Namibia here in Yerevan last Friday. Professor Kandava-Schulz was a highly respected member of the international biodiversity community who served the Convention and its protocols with commitment and distinction over many years. At the present meeting, she was serving as co-chair of the Contact Group on Risk Assessment and risk management of living modified organism. She served in this role with the dedication, professionalism, and commitment that marked her entire engagement with the Convention and its protocols. On behalf of the COP17 presidency, I extend my deepest condolences to her family, friends, colleagues, the government and people of Namibia, and the African Group. As we continue our work, Let us take a moment to honor Professor Kandava-Shultz's memory and recognize her enduring contribution to the objectives of the Convention and its protocols. A book of condolences is available at entrance 2, near the Asia-Pacific room, for all delegates who wish to express their condolences. I now invite delegates to join me in observing a moment of silence in memory of Professor Kandava-Shultz. Thank you very much. I'll now provide a brief report on the outcomes of the high-level ministerial segment held over the past two days. I'm pleased to welcome the ministers and other high-level representatives joining us in this plenary. And over the past two days, we have heard strong and clear messages from heads of state and government, ministers, heads of UN organizations, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders. In total, we heard interventions from 135 parties and 18 representatives of organizations, alongside enthusiastic and constructive engagement throughout the ministerial dialogues. Allow me to highlight a number of key messages. that emerged from our discussions. Reaffirming commitment to the KMGBF, parties reaffirmed their commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework while recognizing that implementation must accelerate significantly to achieve its 2030 targets. Mobilizing biodiversity finance. Finance featured prominently throughout the discussions, with strong calls to deliver on the commitments under Target 19 of the Kym GVF. In this context, Germany announced a contribution of 550 million euros to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund. Thank you. Reforming incentives and strengthening benefit sharing. Parties emphasize the need to reform or phase out harmful subsidies, scale up positive incentives for biodiversity, and strengthen fair and equitable benefit sharing, including through the further operationalization of the Kali Fund. Advancing national implementation and inclusive partnership. Parties reported progress in updating their national biodiversity strategies and action plans and setting national targets. They also underscored the importance of strengthening the participation of indigenous peoples and local communities, and enhancing synergies across the biodiversity-related conventions. Integrating biodiversity into the UN80 initiative. Earlier today, I had the pleasure of opening a ministerial launch on UN80, convened by UNEP and the CBD Secretariat. The event brought together ministers and senior officials from more than 30 countries. It provided governments with an early opportunity to comment on the Secretary-General's long-awaited UN80 report on the environment, released last night. The report was well received, and the summary of the discussion and its key messages will help ensure that the biodiversity perspective is carried forward to Antalya and beyond. Recognizing the links between biodiversity, livelihoods, culture, and identity. Many participants highlighted the unique biodiversity of their countries and emphasized its intrinsic connection to people's livelihoods, cultural heritage, and national identity. Taken together, these discussions reaffirm the importance of translating political commitment into accelerated implementation supported by adequate finance, stronger partnerships, and inclusive action. And I thank all ministers, parties, stakeholders for their active engagement and valuable contributions over these days. Thank you. Distinguished delegates, we will now turn to credentials. And I would like to invite Ms. Ilham Ato Mohamed of the Maldives to provide us with the report on that matter. Please, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of the Bureau and pursuant to rule 19 of the Rules of Procedure for meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, I am pleased to make the following interim report on credentials of representatives to COP 17, COP/MOP 12, of Cartagena Protocol and COP MOP 6 of Nagoya Protocol, updated as of 6:00 PM today, 28 October 2026. For COP 17, a total of 182 parties to the Convention are registered as attending to the COP. Representatives of 153 registered parties have submitted credentials in accordance with Rule 18 of the Rules of Procedure. Credentials of representatives of eight registered parties were not fully compliant with the requirements of the rule 18. Representatives of 21 registered parties have not submitted credentials as of today. Cartagena Protocol credentials, 161 parties to the protocol are registered as attending to COP/MOP 12. Representatives of 119 registered parties have submitted credentials in accordance with Rule 18 of the Rules of Procedure. Credentials of representatives of 23 registered parties were not fully compliant with the requirements of Rule 18. Representatives of 19 registered parties have not submitted credentials as of today. For the Nagoya Protocol, COP/MOP 6. 136 Parties to the Protocol are registered as attending COP/MOP 6. Representatives of 101 registered Parties have submitted credentials in accordance with Rule 18 of the Rules of Procedure. Credentials of representatives of 19 registered Parties were not fully compliant with the requirements of Rule 18. representatives of 16 registered parties have not submitted credentials as of today. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to kindly remind those delegates that have not yet submitted any credentials to do so without delay. According to the Rules of Procedure, the credentials need to clearly state that the individuals listed in the instrument are duly appointed, authorized, and empowered to represent the country at the meetings. They must be signed by the head of state, head of government, or minister of foreign affairs. Lastly, credentials must be present presented to the Secretariat in their original version. I intend to provide an updated report on credentials at the next plenary session to reflect the credentials that will have been received by then. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you very much, Ms. Mamet. So the good news is since the last plenary that we had, our parties submitted many credentials, but still, i'd like to make one more announcement. So I urge delegations that we have not already done, and so the credentials need to be submitted as soon as possible, no later than Thursday lunchtime to the Secretariat. Thank you. Now, i'd like to invite the chair of the Budget Contact Group, Ms. Gillian Coutre of Jamaica to provide us with the progress report on the group's work. Please.

Thank you, Mr. President. I'm pleased to inform you that as of this evening, I have chaired a total of 14 sessions of the Budget Contact Group on the administration of the Convention and its Protocols, and the budgets of the Trust Funds on the item 7 of COP 17, item 6 of COP/MOP 12, and item 6 of Nagoya Protocol COP/MOP 6, as well as on the functional review of the Secretariat. The Budget Contact Group had the opportunity to be briefed by the Executive Secretary and the Deputy Executive Secretary on the progress of the implementation of the recommendations arising from the functional review. The Secretariat presented detailed information on all proposed new posts submitted for approval, outlining the staffing requirements necessary for the Secretariat to effectively respond to and deliver on the requests of parties. The contact group held several sessions to consider the proposed positions and is currently finalizing its deliberations regarding the staffing envelope. The group has made good progress in negotiating the proposed budget, using a zero nominal growth scenario as a starting point. Budget reductions have been proposed across several line items, and the group is expected to finalize the agreed figures during its final session scheduled for Thursday, October 29. Substantial progress has been made on the draft decision text, with parties proposing several new elements for consideration, including, a, funding for participants of eligible parties of intergovernmental meetings of the Convention and its protocols, the budget of the global coordination entity under item 12A on capacity building and development, and technical and scientific cooperation. The group received a brief presentation from the Secretariat on this matter. Additionally, a proposal to support the work of the Steering Committee of the Multilateral Mechanism for DSI was tabled and discussed. The Group remains committed to achieving consensus on all aspects of the budget and associated draft decision. All outstanding items will be considered during the final session of the Group, with a view to reaching a decision on the appropriate funding arrangements for the 2027-28 biennium. In closing, Mr. President, I would like to again thank the members of the Contact Group for their consistently high level of attendance, constructive engagement, and active participation throughout the negotiations. I look forward to the successful conclusion of our work and to presenting the outcomes of the Group’s deliberations for the approval of the parties at this meeting. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you very much. Thank you for the report, and also thank you for your hard work for chairing this group. So the draft decision will be prepared for our consideration. Now let's move on, and I'll begin by inviting the chairs of the working groups to report on the status of the work under their respective agenda items. I'll give the floor to Kaute Hansen of Norway for a report on Working Group 1. Mr. Hansen, please.

Thank you, President. This time speaking behind the Norwegian flag. Since last plenary, Working Group 1 has continued its work through contact groups, friends of the chair, and informal consultations, making progress across several agenda items. Working Group 1 has met this afternoon. Friends of the Chair on item 8, financial mechanism, was established. It met from 6:00 to 8:30 PM today. The working group also considered CRPs of item 14B of the engagement with subnational governments and item 14A on the mainstreaming, as well as several paras of item 12A on the capacity building and cooperation. Some texts are still in brackets regarding the cross-cutting issues among different agenda items. Given the needs for continued discussion and consultation, revised CRPs on item 14A and 14B will be issued for the next session. Multiple agenda items have had discussions since 25th of October, Sunday. Several texts have been further developed through revised non-papers, with elements of agreement emerging, and CRPs expected to be considered at the next sessions of the working group. Under the Nagoya Protocol, discussions advanced on item 11, specialized international access and benefit-sharing instruments in the context of Article 4, and item 12, the global multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism. Non-papers have been streamlined, although some brackets remain. While these developments represent encouraging progress, substantial work remains to be completed. I therefore encourage all delegations to maintain their constructive engagement, build on areas of convergence, and demonstrate the necessary flexibility to advance the outstanding matters in a timely manner. As I have heard, yoga brings flexibility. So please, delegates, do some yoga tomorrow morning. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hansen. I wish I could do so, but I have a bureau meeting with you.

Yes, we can do it before. So I wish to express my sincere appreciation to all delegates, co-chairs, friends of the chairs, and facilitators for their continued commitment and efforts. Thank you, President.

Thank you very much, and we thank you and congratulations of the work that you have done and the results achieved so far. So now I'd like to hear from the Chair of Working Group 2, Mr. Hasiqui Benitez Diaz of Mexico. Please, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President, distinguished delegates. I'm happy to update you on the progress made by Working Group 2 since the last update provided in plenary on 23rd October. Working Group 2 has met three times since then, on Tuesday 27 from 3 to 6 PM and from 7:30 to 10:30 PM. Also met again this morning from 10 AM to 1 PM, and will meet again tomorrow according to the schedule agreed by the Co Bureau. Under the Working Group, 28 contact group sessions and three Friends of the Chair sessions has been held. to advance negotiations under COP 17 and COMOP 12. All items of Cartagena Protocol, COMOP 12, on the responsibility of Working Group 2 have been considered and completed. I am pleased to present the outcomes of the very hard work of the Parties of the Cartagena Protocol. During its sessions, the Working Group considered and approved conference room papers for the following agenda items: COPMOP item 8 on FIF assessment and review of the effectiveness of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and mid-term evaluation of the implementation plan and the capacity building action plan for the Protocol, which is available for the COPMOP consideration as document L.10. with clean text. CPMOP item 13 on risk assessment and risk management of living modified organisms, which is available for your consideration as document L.11. This document was approved this morning with only one set of brackets. Regarding items on the agenda for COP 17, Working Group 2 will continue its work. the following agenda items at this session tomorrow, with a view to advancing their consideration and approval to be presented in our next plenary. There is variable progress across agenda items, as I will now describe. For item 16 on synthetic biology, progress was made in resolving many brackets following five contact group sessions, including two held this afternoon. Items 17A on the strategic review and analysis of programs of work in the context of the framework, and 17D on areas of potential for the work were addressed by the same contact group, which met four times, including a session this afternoon, and a CRP document will be posed for consideration of Working Group 2. Item 17B on forest biodiversity, the Working Group considered further this item at the sessions of 27 and 28 October and will continue its consideration at one of its future sessions. Four contact group sessions were held for item 17C on protected areas, most recently this afternoon. For item 17E, matters relating to the work program of IPBES, five contact groups were held, with the most recent session this afternoon. On item 18

Thank you, Mr. Tias, and my appreciation to you and for the work that you have done. As I understand from the reports from the working groups, that there are two draft decisions ready for adoption during this plenary session, and we'll take this up in a moment. Accordingly, I'll adjourn the joint plenary and resume the plenary of COP 17. And now I resume the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties. And as I mentioned earlier, we have additional L documents available for consideration by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention. And as I announced on Monday, 26 October, at the information session, The Presidency team has undertaken a series of informal ministerial consultations during the high-level segment, aiming to accelerate progress on outstanding issues, bring the negotiations to successful conclusion, and enable the Conference of the Parties to complete its work on the final day of the meeting, October 30. Building on the good work done by the contact groups, the informal ministerial consultations were taken on a global review on 27 October and resource mobilization, DSI, and Article 8A on 28 October. And I thank all the ministers, heads of delegations, and delegates for their participation in these consultations. My special thanks goes to Honorable Natalie Powo, Secretary of State, Member of Parliament, House of Commons of Canada, who facilitated consultations on the agenda Item 9A, global review. His Excellency Mr. Ayou Goro Diouf, Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition of Senegal, and His Excellency Mr. Daniel Westlund, State Secretary for Climate and the Environment of Sweden, who facilitated discussions on agenda item 8A, resource mobilization. Her Excellency Ms. Sigrun Aslan, Minister of Climate and Environment of Norway, and Her Excellency Dr. Evelyn Ndlovu, Minister of Environment, Climate, and Wildlife for Zimbabwe, who facilitated consultations on agenda item 11, digital sequence information on genetic resources, and His Excellency Mr. Badarabe-Abbas Laval, Minister of Environment of Niger, who facilitated consultations on agenda item implementation of Article 8A and other provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity related to indigenous peoples and local communities. And my thanks goes also to the respective teams of the ministers. Distinguished delegates, we have made very good progress. Again, I want to thank the working group chairs, the chairs of the contact groups, and all of you for your hard work and positive spirit. The progress we have achieved so far is a testament to our collective commitment and the results of constructive engagement of all parties, including ministers and heads of delegations. And I'm confident that we can continue to build on this achievement and send positive signals to the world that multilateralism for biodiversity is at work. Let's continue this spirit of collaboration in finding common ground on all remaining issues. I had intended to bring the Global Review decision forward for adoption tonight. Following today's consultations, I believe that some additional work will help us build the necessary outcome. I therefore propose to continue consultations with the view to bringing the decision forward for adoption at our next plenary. The Presidency has done everything to make sure that the Parties have all possible platforms for the consultations and for the negotiations. We wanted to make sure that the high-level segment could be put in utmost use for the Parties to come to a conclusion. And I've seen on many different items that this was the case, and we have some progress. That said, we still have made great progress, again, as I said, and now we'll take up to the L documents that are already for adoption, followed by the election of officers. I now adjourn the plenary of COP 17. We now resume the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now consider for adoption two L documents under the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol. I'll put forward the following L documents for adoption: L/10 on item 8 of the agenda of COP/MOP 12, assessment and review of the effectiveness of the Cardina Protocol, L.11, on agenda item 13 of COP/MOP 12, risk assessment and risk management. L.11 on item 13, risk assessment and risk management. Let us begin with document L.10 on agenda item 8. So, dear delegates, the document is a clean text, and I therefore propose that we adopt it as a whole. And with that, I submit for adoption document CPL.10 on item 8 of the agenda of COP/MOP 12, assessment and review of the effectiveness of the Cartagena Protocol and mid-term evaluation of the implementation plan and capacity building action plan for the Protocol. I see no request from the floor. Let me check. The document CPL10 is adopted. We'll now proceed with L11 on agenda item 13 of COP/MOP 12, risk assessment and risk management. And, dear delegates, I see that there is one bracket in this document around paragraph 1A of the annex, and I also understand that the Parties have consulted and have come to a solution, which is to leave the bracket. And I give the floor to Mexico.

Thank you, Chair, and good afternoon to everyone. I'm grateful to you for the opportunity to address you to say that we propose that we lift the brackets, because this was previously agreed with the delegation of Panama, and I wish to thank Panama for their flexibility on this.

Thank you, Mexico. Panama, you have the floor.

Thank you, President. As was mentioned by our colleague from Mexico, Panama, in the spirit of flexibility and practicing yoga, decided to agree to lift those brackets. Thank you.

Thank you. So after all, yoga is helpful. Thank you very much for your flexibility and being so constructive. So with that, I submit for adoption document L.11 on item 13, risk assessment and risk management of living modified organism. And document L.11 is adopted as amended. I now adjourn the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol. And we continue by resuming the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties. So now, we'll return to item two of our COP agenda on the election of officers for the next intersessional period. At our last plenary session, we heard nominations from the Asia-Pacific States and the Latin America and Caribbean States, and I'll now invite the African States, Eastern European States, and the Western Europe and other States to provide their nominations for members to serve on the Bureau. And I'll begin with African States. I give the floor to Cameroon on behalf of the African States. Mics to the Cameroon, please.

Thank you, Mr. President, for giving me the floor. It is my pleasure to announce the nomination from the African Group for election to the COP Bureau. I am so sorry, if you could just give me a minute. Yes, for the African group, we have Madame Malepo Posoko, who is the National Focal Point for the Convention on Biological Diversity from South Africa, and Professor Assama Abdelkawy, who is the National Focal Point to the Nagoya Protocol and Cartagena Protocol, and he's from Egypt. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you for the nomination. The floor goes to Bosnia and Herzegovina on behalf of the Eastern European States. Please.

Thank you, Mr. President. I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the Central and Eastern European region. I am pleased to inform you that our region has successfully concluded its consultation and reached consensus on the nomination for the COP Bureau. On behalf of our region, I have the honor to nominate Ms. Ditta Kregus from Hungary, Ms. Adla Kahric from Bosnia and Herzegovina, As substitute for Bosnia and Herzegovina on the COP/MOP Bureau of the Nagoya Protocol, Mr. Kumar Abil Kazimovich Mambeteliev from Kyrgyz Republic. This nomination reflects the consensus reached within our region. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you for the nominations. The floor goes to Luxembourg, speaking on behalf of Western European and other states. Mic to the Luxembourg, please.

Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of VIOK, I would like to announce that we also have successfully concluded our deliberation, and I would like to announce that we would like to nominate Mrs. Charlotta Sörqvist from Sweden, as well as Mrs. Holly Kelly-Weale from the United Kingdom as members of Bureau starting their term at the closure of this meeting. Thank you.

Thank you for the nomination, and thank you to the old regions for their nominations. All right, thank you. So I think I got all the names. I'll be trying to pronounce them. We have all nominations from all the regions, which is, i think, a huge success. And again, African states, Miss Malepo Poshoko of South Africa, Mr. Osama Abdelkawy of Egypt, Miss Inge Retnovati of Indonesia. From Asia-Pacific States, Mr. Mitateti Motetira of Kiribati. Eastern European States, Ms. Adla Karić of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ms. Tita Gregus of Hungary. Latin American and Caribbean States, Mr. Patrick Luna of Brazil. Ms. Nekka Nicholas of Antigua and Barbuda. Western Europe and other States, Ms. Charlotta Schorkvitz of Sweden, Ms. Holly Kelly of United Kingdom, and we will proceed to formally elect them to the Bureau. I see no objections. So the Bureau members are duly elected. Congratulations to the new Bureau members. These members will commence their term upon the closing of this meeting. As per usual practice, the new members are invited to attend the next Bureau meetings as observers until the commencement of their terms of office. Thank you. And I now adjourn COP 17. And we resume the 12th meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol. So, again, back to the elections. Election of the substitutes for the COPMOP Bureau of the Cartagena Protocol. If all nominated members are party to this protocol, I see that all Bureau members that have been elected represent parties that are also party to the Cartagena Protocol. There is therefore no need to elect substitutes for the COPMOP Bureau of Cartagena Protocol. And as we proceed, I now adjourn the 12th meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol. And we resume the sixth meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol. So the elections of substitutes for the COP/MOP Bureau of Nagoya Protocol. If some nominate nominated are not party to this protocol, which I think is the case in this one. So I see that the newly elected bureau members from the Eastern Europe states from the Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is not party to the Nagoya Protocol, and we therefore need to elect the substitute for the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the parties to the Nagoya Protocol. and open the floor for the region concerned to make the necessary nomination. Bosnia and Herzegovina, back to you.

Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of the Central and East Europe region, as a substitute for Bosnia and Herzegovina on the COP-MOB Bureau of the Nagoya Protocol is Mr. Kumaar Abilkazimovich Mambeteliev from the Kyrgyz Republic. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. So your candidate is Mr. Kumar Abdul-Kazimovich Mamedaliev of Kyrgyz Republic, and we'll now formally elect him to the Bureau. I see no objections. The nominee is elected as substitute of the COP/MOP Bureau of the Nagoya Protocol. And again, the member will commence his term upon the closing of this meeting, and as per usual practice, new members are invited to attend the next Bureau meetings as observers. I now adjourn the sixth meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol and resume the twelfth meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol. So, we are resuming the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties. And we return to item two of the COP on the election of the officers for the next intersessional period. So, the elections of the chairs of the Intergovernmental Subsidiary Bodies. And you will recall that it is expected that the next chair of the subsidiary body on scientific, technical and technological advice will be elected on the basis of nomination from the region of Western Europe and other states. And accordingly, I invite the Western European and other states to make their nomination for the chair of the SABSTA. And I invite Luxembourg to take the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President. For the position of sub-staff chair, we would like to announce the nomination of Mrs. Valeria Giovannelli as sub-staff chair. Valeria Giovannelli is a senior researcher with over a decade of experience in the CVD processes. focusing on the Cartagena Protocol and IGPES, as well as other international processes. She has a proven leadership record, having successfully chaired ad hoc technical groups and co-chaired contact groups at SUBSTAF. Thank you.

So, if we heard you correctly, so there's one nominee for the position of the chair of the SABSTA, Valeria Giovannelli from Italy. So in order to proceed efficiently with the election of the chair, I propose that the nomination for the position of SABSTA now be closed. And I see No objection. Therefore, I declare the nomination for the position of the Chair of SABSA closed. So, following the established practice, if we agree that Valeria Giovannelli from Italy to be elected as the next Chair of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice? If so, Valeria is elected as the Chairperson of the SBST. Congratulations, Mario. I'd like to express my deep appreciation to Mr. Jean-Bruno Mikasa for his dedication to the parties as a chair of the SABSTA over the last two years. Thank you. Thank you. Let us now proceed to the election of Chair of SPI. So it is expected that the Chair of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation will be elected on the basis of nomination from the region of Eastern European States. And I invite Bosnia and Herzegovina for their nomination.

Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of the Central and Eastern European region, we are pleased to nominate Mr. Sino Toghierzoda from Tajikistan for the position of Chair of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation. He is Tajikistan's national focal point for the Nagoya Protocol and has previously served as a member of COP Bureau and currently serves as a co-chair of the GBFF auxiliary body. We are confident that his experience and commitment will enable him to fulfill the responsibility of the SBI Chair effectively, impartially, and in a transparent and balanced manner, in accordance with the Convention and the applicable rules of procedure. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. If there is no nominations, I declare the nominations for the position of Chair of SPI closed. So, may I take it we all agree to elect Mr. Sino Tajirzodov of Tajikistan as the next Chair of SPI? So the nominee is elected as a chairperson of the SPI. I congratulate Mr. Toirzoda on his election and invite him to join the Bureau as an ex-officio member. And my deepest appreciation to Ms. Clarissa Souza de Lannina of Brazil for outstanding service to the parties, the Chair of SPI over the last Thank you. I now adjourn COP 17 and back to the Cartagena Protocol. So we resume the twelfth meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol. Continuing with the elections, we will turn to item 5 on the agenda of the meeting of the parties to the Cartagena Protocol. And I'd like to invite the outstanding regions to make their nominations for five members of the Compliance Committee under the Cartagena Protocol. And I now give the floor to Cameroon on behalf of the African States.

Thank you for giving me the floor, Mr. President. Cameroon has the pleasure to announce on behalf of the African Group our nomination of Madame Hela Mschabi of Tunisia as a member of the Compliance Committee under the Cartagena Protocol. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. The floor goes to Bosnia and Herzegovina on behalf of the Eastern European States.

Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of the Central and Eastern European region, I am pleased to nominate Dr. Talle-Jaivus-Pahno from Estonia for the membership of the Compliance Committee under the Cartagena Protocol. Dr. Jaivus-Pahno has been national focal point of the Cartagena Protocol for Estonia for eight years. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. So, we have the nominations from all regions for the Compliance Committee under the Cardano Protocol. So, for the African States, it's Ms. Hela Msabhi of Tunisia. For the Asia-Pacific States, Mr. Ahmad Kusman Siswandi of Indonesia. As I understand, some of the nominations have been previously submitted. For the Eastern European states, it's Miss Tille Järvus-Pano of Estonia. For the Latin American and the Caribbean states, Miss Lucia Pimenta of Brazil. For the Western European and other states, Mr. Michelangelo Lambordo of Italy. So if you all agree to elect the nominees to the committee, and I see no objections, the members are duly elected. Congratulations, and now adjourn the meeting of the 12th meeting of the parties to the Cartagena Protocol. and back to Nagoya Protocol by resuming the sixth meeting. We'll now turn to the election of members of the Compliance Committee under the Nagoya Protocol. And I'm inviting the regions for their nominations. I give the floor to Cameron on behalf of the African States, please.

Thank you, Mr. President, for giving me the floor. It is my pleasure to announce, on behalf of the African Group, the nomination of Dr. Aurélie Taylor-Patience Ndimgom, who is the national focal point to the Nagoya Protocol from Cameroon. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you for the nominations. Maldives, representing Asia-Pacific States.

Thank you, Mr. President. We have previously also sent our nominations, but we will once again repeat our nominations for the Nagoya Protocol. That is Mr. Tianbao Qin for a second term from China. And he has been a professor at School of Law, University of Ministry of Ecology and Environment. And as an alternate member to Nagoya Protocol Compliance Committee, we propose Mr. Mani Prasad Nirala. Principal Biodiversity Officer and Program Lead at the National Biodiversity Center of Bhutan. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you for the nominations. Hungary on behalf of the Eastern European States.

Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of the Central and Eastern European states, I am pleased to nominate Ms. Aliska Rofová from Czechia for the membership of the Compliance Committee under the Nagoya Protocol. Ms. Rofová has been Czechia’s national focal point for the Nagoya Protocol for a decade, and she is serving as an alternate member of the Compliance Committee. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you for the nominations. Other regions have submitted their nominations earlier, and we have the following nominations for the Compliance Committee under the Nagoya Protocol. For the African States: Ms. Aurelia Taylor-Patience Dingu, Cameroon. For the Asia-Pacific States: Mr. Tianbao Qin of China, and alternate Mr. Mani Prasad Niroula of Bhutan. For the Eastern European States, Ms. Eliška Ralfová of Czech Republic. For the Latin American and Caribbean States, Ms. Gabrielle Sullivan of the Bahamas. and Mr. Henrique Felipe Ibanez de Novion of Brazil as the alternate for the Western European and Other State, Mr. Thomas Grebier of Germany. And if we all agree with the nominees, the members are duly elected. Congratulations, and we adjourn the sixth meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol. and we'll resume our meeting of the Conference of the Parties. So, distinguished delegates, we'll now turn to agenda item 5 under the convention, date and venue of future meetings of the Conference of the Parties. As we recall, we need to decide on the date and venue of the 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, as we have received two offers to host COP 18, which in alphabetical order are Ecuador and Panama. And I invite the two parties to provide further information on their respective offers to host, and I request them to focus on the technical overview of their respective offers And again, we'll proceed with alphabetical order. And I give the floor to Her Excellency Alicia Jaramillo Cabo, Vice Minister of Environment and Marine Coastal Affairs of Ecuador, to deliver a short statement and play a short video. Excellency, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President. Good night to everyone. I wish to briefly share our expression of interest in hosting COP 18. Let me begin by underscoring that this process should be understood as part of our deep friendship, cooperation, and mutual cooperation and trust between Ecuador and Panama. We have excellent bilateral relationships and a dynamic cooperation agenda and a shared vision of the importance of multilateralism and international environmental action. Two Latin American candidatures do not reflect competition between our countries. On the contrary, it is a demonstration of our commitment as a region to the global biodiversity agenda and the success of the Convention on Biological Diversity. We will all be attending the triple COP-BRS, and in the Parks Congress of the IUCN in 2027, and the Ramsar COP and CITES COP in 2028. Panama, Ecuador awaits you at COP18 for the CBD. We have the logistics and first-rate infrastructure in place, and a wide accommodation range with international standards and solid connectivity. in terms of air travel through our international airport. These strengths go hand in hand with our proven experience in organizing global events such as the United Nations Conference on Housing, Habitat III, in 2016. This infrastructure goes hand in hand with the possibility to easily connect to the center of the world with the natural majesty of our ecosystems and our biogeographic regions, Amazon, Andes, the coast, and the Galapagos, as well as our peoples and nationalities, which will guarantee an accessible, affordable, safe, biodiverse, intercultural, and sustainable host city. This is a commitment that we will take on with full responsibility. We are honored to host you at the center of the world in Quito and Galapagos for the Summit of Leaders. Our communities, peoples, and nationalities await you. We'd like to now play a brief video with the invitation of our Minister of Environment and Energy, Juan Carlos Blum. Thank you very much.

That supply nearly 8 million people originate. We have a coastal region that welcomes giants of the ocean: humpback whales, giant manta rays, sharks, and sea turtles. It also features extensive mangrove forests that capture CO2, store carbon, and provide a livelihood for communities. We have the Amazon, home to one of the world's greatest concentrations of biodiversity, with approximately 700 species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 189 species of amphibians, and 177 species of reptiles, among the many other species this magical region shelters. And, a thousand kilometers off our coast, we have the Galapagos Islands, the most studied archipelago on the planet. A vast living laboratory, where Charles Darwin arrived in 1835 on a journey that would shape the history of science and contribute to the development of his theory of evolution. Home to species endemic to this region and found nowhere else in the world. A place where life took extraordinary paths and transformed our understanding of nature. This is Ecuador, the capital of life.

Ecuador ha construido una trayectoria de liderazgo en la protección de la biodiversidad, respaldada por decisiones políticas, instrumentos jurídicos y mecanismos innovadores de conservación, y sobre todo, compromiso. Fuimos el primer país del mundo en reconocer los derechos de la naturaleza en nuestra Constitución. Nuestra visión trasciende fronteras. Junto a Colombia, Costa Rica y Panamá, impulsamos el Corredor Marino del Pacífico Este Tropical y fortalecimos la protección del océano con la Reserva Marina Hermandad. Somos un país intercultural y plurinacional, donde la diversidad natural convive con la riqueza de nuestros pueblos y nacionalidades. Los invito a confiar en nosotros para recibirlos en el 2028. Hagamos de la COP18 un espacio de acuerdos, liderazgo y resultados concretos para la vida en el planeta. Ecuador los espera.

Gobierno del Ecuador.

Thank you, Ecuador, for the statement and also for the video. The floor goes to the Panama, please, for a statement.

Thank you, Mr. President. Allow me to convey the apologies of Panama's Minister of Environment, Juan Carlos Navarro. He's deeply grateful for Armenia's warm hospitality these past weeks, and inspired by Armenia's example, Panama makes these offers in the spirit of service to this convention and to our region. Ecuador is a close friend and partner. We share an ocean. We protect it together through the Eastern Pacific. Eastern Tropical Pacific Marian Corridor, and we will keep it working side by side, whatever the parties decide. The Minister had to leave to Yerevan for another official commitment, but we want to address you directly, so he has left you a short video message. With your permission, please play the video.

We accepted to submit an offer to host COP18 in 2028 after several parties asked us to participate. as no country had yet at that moment offered a venue. Our proposal, which was the first to be received, was offered as a service to the planet, with the best of intentions, as a gesture of goodwill and solidarity with the parties of this Convention and the world. We submit that Panama would be a suitable host, as we are one of the planet's best examples of sustainable development. Pristine and biodiverse forests produce and store abundant drinking water for 2 million Panamanians, and the fresh water needed to operate the Panama Canal. World-class national parks protect these forests and are located minutes away from the capital, easily visited on both our Pacific and our Caribbean coasts, which are only an hour apart. Indigenous peoples and local communities keep these forests alive. We work alongside them, with rangers and science, and the rights of nature in Panama are protected by law. In fact, the president of Panama proposed last month at the UN General Assembly that the planet adopt the universal rights of nature. Also, the water from our rivers produces 70% of Panama's abundant clean energy, and Panama is one of the few carbon negative countries on earth. COP18 will arrive in a crucial moment for the planet. The 30x30 promise must be kept. Today, Panama already protects 33% of our land and 54% of our territorial waters. Ships slow down for whales when approaching our coasts to sail through the canal. Many of you have already worked here with us and know our experienced team. Our airport, Tocumen International Airport, handles over 24 million passengers a year. Over 90 direct flights daily from Panama City connects us to the Americas, Europe, and the world. And Copa, our national airline, operates one of the safest, on-time, and most modern fleets in the world. A welcome desk for every delegation, however small. The use of the US dollar as our official currency. English spoken widely. One of the safest capitals in the Americas, modern, efficient, world-class installations and transportation systems, an efficient metro system that links our airport to hotels minutes from the plenary. In fact, the new Panama Convention Center is in turn one of the most modern, safest, and efficient venues in the Americas, nestled in a spectacular setting at the Pacific entrance of the canal. And we take care of all logistics. so that every hour of your time goes to effective negotiations. Panama was born a bridge for life, and the bridge of cultures. In 2028, we offer to be a bridge between the parties. This convention invited our region to host COP18. Panama is ready. Should it be accepted, it will be the first time a biodiversity COP will be held in Central America and the Caribbean. We are not campaigning, we are not asking for votes. We are offering our collaboration, and most of all, we are offering our homes and our hearts. Whatever the parties decide, Latin America and the Caribbean will welcome the world, and Panama will wholeheartedly support the decision of the parties.

Thank you, Panama, again for the statement and also for the video presentation. It has not been possible to reach a consensus within the region. It seems like we'll have to resolve this issue through the vote in plenary, but I'd like to ask the Secretariat to comment on this and explain the procedures, please.

Thank you, Mr. President, and good evening, dear delegates. The Secretariat would like to remind delegates that only Parties with valid credentials signed by Head of State, Head of Government, or Minister for Foreign Affairs may participate in the voting on the decision on the venue of the 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties. As we heard, from the report on credentials, as at 28 October 2026, today, 153 party delegations had submitted valid credentials. With regard to the quorum required to take decisions, Rule 30 of the Rules of Procedure provides that the President may declare a session of the meeting open and permit the debate to proceed if at least one-third of the parties to the convention are present, and have any decision taken when representatives of at least two-thirds of parties are present. There are 196 parties to the convention, and accordingly, 131 parties need to be present to take any decision. The Secretariat will publish an information document on voting procedures to assist parties in their preparations for the vote. Thank you.

Thank you very much. In this case, we will undertake the voting to elect the next host for the COP 18. The draft decision will be prepared for the next plenary, as I understand. So, ladies and gentlemen, just to clarify, so the voting will take place on Friday, next plenary session, and then afterwards there will be a draft document prepared for the consideration of this plenary. And I now adjourn the meeting of COP 17. And we resume the joint plenary. Colleagues, tomorrow we will resume our work in the working groups. On Friday, we will reconvene again in plenary. I am confident that by then, the working groups will be able to complete their work and that we will be able to finalize our work in plenary. Distinguished delegates, this concludes our plenary session for this evening. Have a good night. See you tomorrow, and the joint plenary meeting of COP 17, COP MOP 12, and COP MOP 6 is adjourned.