Biodiversity for Sustainable Development

UN High-Level Political Forum

The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) contributes on a regular basis to the United Nations’ follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. This includes responding to formal requests for input from across the UN system, contributing to and/or participating in the annual events of the High-level Political Forum in New York along with its preparatory forums hosted by the UN’s Regional Economic and Social Commissions, and providing biodiversity-specific guidance for the preparation of Voluntary National Reviews.

The HLPF meets annually in New York under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, and also at the level of Heads of State every four years in the General Assembly.

Financial support for preparing the outreach material listed below was provided by the European Union (2018 and 2019) and by the Government of Japan (2017), and is gratefully acknowledged.

2023 HLPF - Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels

The meeting of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in 2023, convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, will be held from 10 to 19 July 2023, including its ministerial segment from 17 to 19 July, as part of the high-level segment of the Council. The theme of the 2023 HLPF is: “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”. The HLPF will discuss in depth five Sustainable Development Goals: 6 (clean water and sanitation), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and 17 (partnerships for the Goals). Participants will further discuss the effective and inclusive recovery measures to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and explore actionable policy guidance for the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs at all levels. The HLPF in July will also support the mid-term review of the implementation of the SDGs and the preparations for the 2023 SDG Summit – the HLPF to be convened under the auspices of the General Assembly, in September 2023.

The following forty-one countries will carry out voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of their implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Central African Republic, Comoros, Chile, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, European Union, Fiji, France, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Mongolia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, St Kitts & Nevis, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam and Zambia.

The related Notification is available at: www.cbd.int/notifications/.

2022 HLPF - Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The 2022 session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) was held from Tuesday, 5 July, to Thursday, 7 July, and from Monday, 11 July, to Friday, 15 July 2022, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. The theme of 2022 HLPF was: “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” The HLPF discussed in depth five Sustainable Development Goals: 4 (quality education), 5 (gender equality), 14 (life below water), 15 (life on land), and 17 (partnerships for the Goals) as well as the different and particular impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic across these SDGs and the integrated, indivisible and interlinked nature of the Goals. It is noteworthy that the timeline for 9 of the 12 targets for SDG 15 come to an end in 2020, thus calling for alignment with the proposed indicators for 2030. The following forty-five countries carried out voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of their implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Andorra, Argentina, Belarus, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote D'Ivoire, Djibouti, Dominica, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea Bissau, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Montenegro, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Switzerland, Togo, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay.

The related Notification can be consulted at: www.cbd.int/notifications/.

2021 HLPF - Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that promotes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development: building an inclusive and effective path for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development

The meeting of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in 2021 was held from 6 July to 15 July 2021. The theme of 2021 HLPF was: "Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that promotes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development: building an inclusive and effective path for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development".

Please see here some key preliminary messages related to biodiversity, the Post-2020 Global Framework and the SDGs.

UNEP-WCMC has provided additional information for your use at https://www.unep-wcmc.org/resources-and-data/integrating-biodiversity-into-the-sustainable-development-agenda--an-analysis-of-voluntary-national-reviews.

The information document of the fourteenth meting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (CBD/COP/14/INF/26), Biodiversity guidance for voluntary national reviews, available at: https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/5c5f/cce3/d994ffe3ff426bfd61eb1bac/cop-14-inf-26-en.pdf provides draft guidance for reporting progress on biodiversity to the High-level Political Forum.

The related Notification can be consulted at: www.cbd.int/notifications/.

2020 HLPF - Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development

2019 HLPF - Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality

2018 HLPF - Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies

2017 HLPF - Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world