1554. Impacts of biodiversity loss on livelihoods and food systems in Africa

In an article dated 4 August 2026, UN News reported that biodiversity loss is having serious impacts on the lives and livelihoods of people in Africa and other developing regions. Citing declining agricultural productivity and the depletion of fishery resources in coastal waters, the article presents the biodiversity crisis as an issue directly linked to food security and local economies. It also notes that biodiversity underpins food supply, access to clean water, climate change adaptation, and the resilience of people and societies, while raising concern that, globally, far more funding is directed toward activities that damage nature than toward those that protect it.

According to the article, Africa is home to 25 per cent of the world’s biodiversity, but has lost about 24 per cent of its species compared with the pre-industrial period. It also points out that climate change, invasive alien species, pollution, and the overexploitation of land and water resources are affecting access to food, income, and clean water in rural and coastal communities through biodiversity loss.

To discuss responses to these challenges, the 28th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-28) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The 7th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI-7) is also being held from 4 to 12 August, with discussions underway on how to translate scientific knowledge on biodiversity into concrete policies and implementation recommendations.

Meanwhile, the CBD official website explains that the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is a global action framework for biodiversity conservation, adopted at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP15) in December 2022 following four years of consultation and negotiation. The GBF sets out a pathway toward realizing a “world living in harmony with nature” by 2050, and establishes four long-term goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030.

According to the CBD, implementation of the GBF is supported by a package of decisions adopted at the same time at COP15. These include a monitoring framework for tracking progress, mechanisms to strengthen planning, reporting, and review, mobilization of the financial resources needed for implementation, strategic frameworks for capacity development and technical and scientific cooperation, and an agreement on digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources. Parties are also expected to develop and implement national targets, while a wide range of actors, including businesses and local governments, are encouraged to communicate their own voluntary commitments.

As outlined above, the UN News article highlights the impacts of biodiversity loss on people’s lives and livelihoods in Africa and other regions. The GBF promoted by the CBD, in turn, provides a set of common goals and an implementation framework through which the international community can respond to these challenges. Looking ahead, a key issue will be how to accelerate implementation of the GBF while steadily reviewing progress on the targets and commitments set by countries and other relevant actors.

References
•    UN News. 2026. “Biodiversity crisis threatens lives and livelihoods across Africa.” 4 August 2026. https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/08/1168078
•    Convention on Biological Diversity. “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.” https://www.cbd.int/gbf

Contributor: Miyuki IIYAMA, Strategic Coordination Office