The Academia and Research Organisations Group of the UN CBD: engagement at COP16

Written by Audrey Wagner and Hannah Nicholas

During the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Cali, Colombia, NbSI’s Audrey Wagner, alongside Hannah Nicholas, coordinator of CASCADE at the University of Oxford, led the UN CBD Academia and Research Organisations Group.

The Academia and Research Organisations Group (A&R Group) of the UN CBD provides a collective platform to support meaningful participation and engagement of academics and researchers in CBD processes.

Comparable to the role of RINGO (Research and Independent Non-Governmental Organizations) in the UNFCCC climate convention context, the A&R Group emphasises the importance of evidence-informed decision making and highlights the unique contributions that science and research can make in global environmental policy.

While Academia and Research has been an official constituency in the CBD for decades, the A&R Group was dormant until it was revived in 2022. This renewal has allowed for academia to begin employing a more coordinated approach to engaging at CBD COPs such as COP16, which took place from Oct 21st to Nov 1st, 2024. COP16 was the biggest biodiversity COP to date with increased participation across the board, including over 800 individuals formally registered under Academia and Research accreditation.

The A&R Group contains a diverse collection of researchers working across disciplines and regions, with individuals focused on the wide variety of issues under the CBD. Expertise ranges from geneticists and lawyers working on digital sequencing information, to ecologists informing the indicators of the monitoring framework, to anthropologists working on issues surrounding the participation of Indigenous Peoples. Despite the inherent challenges of reaching consensus across such broad research areas, the group was nevertheless able to make significant strides at COP16, including:

• Crafting Opening and Closing Statements: Under Audrey’s and Hannah’s leadership, the A&R group was able submit opening and closing statements developed by consensus. The opening statement was co-delivered by NbSI Programme Coordinator and Researcher Audrey Wagner on behalf of A&R in plenary at the conference, and highlighted that integrating a diversity of knowledge systems will be crucial to achieving the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).
• Hosting the A&R Hub: The group coordinated the A&R Hub throughout the two weeks of COP16, where A&R members hosted dozens of ad-hoc side events. Topics included NbS for transformational change, and a workshop on how academics can better engage with the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which plays a similar role to the CBD as the IPCC plays in synthesising scientific evidence for informing negotiations in the climate convention.
• Organising an Official Side Event: The A&R Group contact points also organised an official side event in the Multistakeholder Auditorium, titled ‘Academia and Research Actions for the CBD Global Biodiversity Framework’. The event was opened with a presentation by David Obura, Chair of IPBES, and followed by a series of flash-talks from A&R members, showcasing the diversity of A&R delegate expertise.
• Daily check-ins: Daily morning meetings were held in the dedicated pavilion for Academia and Research Organisations. These meetings enabled delegates to share intel on the negotiations and other relevant side events, discuss group activities and strategies, draft statements, network, and build community.
• Communication: An A&R COP16 WhatsApp chat also served to unite academics and researchers attending COP16, facilitating connections and networking between scientists, delegates, the CBD Secretariat, and other caucuses. Interest in leveraging the group’s expertise grew amongst Parties as the group’s profile increased in prominence compared to past COPs, resulting in the group’s members being informally called upon to help provide evidence to support ambitious outcomes in the negotiations.

The increased visibility and impact of the A&R Group at COP16 signals a shift toward greater recognition of the essential role academia can play in biodiversity governance. To achieve the ambitious goals and targets of the KMGBF, it is critical that academia and research remain actively engaged in CBD processes.

Over the coming months and in the lead up to CBD COP17 in Armenia in 2026, the A&R Group will be actively building connections, strengthening its community, increasing the diversity of its membership, fostering partnerships, enhancing knowledge-sharing mechanisms, and advocating for the integration of science in the mission to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.