The seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), held in Nairobi in December 2025, convened governments, international organizations, financial institutions, and civil society around a shared mission: accelerating sustainable solutions and effective responses for a safer and more resilient planet. With more than 6,000 participants from 186 countries, UNEA-7 reaffirmed its role as the world’s highest-level environmental decision-making body. The Assembly provided a timely platform to reinforce the central role of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) as the backbone for turning global ambition into national action. It also served as a platform for bringing together national priorities, multilateral dialogue, and implementation-focused solutions.

Reflecting on the outcomes of the Assembly, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen described UNEA-7 as “a brightening beacon of environmental multilateralism,” underscoring the continued importance of collective, rules-based cooperation in addressing the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

UNEA-7 concluded with the adoption of multiple resolutions and decisions, alongside a Ministerial Declaration committing Member States to strengthen multilateral cooperation and inclusive implementation across environmental priorities. The Assembly also approved UNEP’s Medium-Term Strategy and Programme of Work, providing strategic direction for global environmental action in the years ahead.

UNEA-7’s mission closely aligns with the work of the country-led NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, which aims to mobilise technical and financial support to accelerate NBSAPs and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. At UNEA-7, this alignment was evident through country-level engagement, including the participation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) delegation, supported by the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s Facilitator for the DRC.  

Elevating the role of NBSAPs: Throughout plenary sessions and side events, UNEA-7 discussions highlighted the central role of NBSAPs in achieving the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Interventions emphasised the importance of integrated responses to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, as well as the critical role of the science–policy interface and the recognition of the knowledge of local communities and Indigenous Peoples. These discussions were further informed by the release of major global environmental assessments, reinforcing the scientific basis for integrated policy and action.

Accelerating systemic solutions: Another defining component of UNEA-7 was the emphasis on moving beyond stand-alone initiatives toward integrated, systems-level solutions. This type of holistic framing integrates biodiversity strategies with broader development and climate objectives, as articulated in NBSAPs and the Global Biodiversity Framework. One illustrative example was the discussion around peatland conservation in the Congo Basin’s Cuvette Centrale, which explicitly linked biodiversity protection with climate mitigation, sustainable agriculture, community livelihoods, and energy access.

Anchoring solutions in country leadership and national priorities: UNEA-7 reinforced the principle that durable environmental solutions must be country-owned and nationally driven and underscored the importance of aligning international support with national leadership and institutional capacity.

Fostering effective, multi-stakeholder responses: UNEA-7 demonstrated the value of inclusive, multi-stakeholder engagement. Rather than relying solely on formal presentations, many sessions and side events were structured as facilitated dialogues among governments, UN agencies, financial institutions, technical partners, and civil society organizations.

Global themes were reflected in practice through country-level engagement. The experience of the Democratic Republic of the Congo illustrates how UNEA-7 priorities can be translated into nationally driven action through targeted implementation support. A key milestone for the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership was a strategic meeting held on the margins of the Assembly with Her Excellency Marie Nyange Ndambo, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and New Climate Economy of the DRC.

The meeting provided an opportunity to present a detailed update on progress, challenges, and future prospects in support of national priorities on biodiversity and climate. Particular attention was given to the severe pressures facing biodiversity in the DRC, including ecosystem destruction linked to armed conflict and insecurity, making more relevant than ever the COP16 tagline on peace with Nature, discussed during NBSAP Day. These realities underscored the urgency of strengthening governance, monitoring, and implementation systems through nationally driven strategies supported by international cooperation. The Minister’s guidance helped shape next steps for the operational deployment of supported initiatives, reinforcing national leadership as the foundation for implementation.

For the DRC, UNEA-7 also provided a critical opportunity to strengthen partnerships, expand networks, and elevate national perspectives within global discussions on biodiversity, climate change, and pollution.

As noted by Charly Perrière Lamba, NBSAP Accelerator Partnership Facilitator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

UNEA-7 called for faster, more coordinated action to address interconnected environmental crises and highlighted the growing need for mechanisms that turn global ambition into national implementation. As emphasized by UNEP leadership, the Assembly reaffirmed environmental multilateralism as an essential pathway for addressing shared global challenges. Following the Assembly, Charly Perrière Lamba contributed to a national report for the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reflecting on UNEA-7 outcomes and national priorities.

The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership will continue to work with member countries and partners to accelerate country-led action, grounded in national priorities and informed by the integrated, collaborative approaches championed at UNEA-7.

Learn more about how the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership Facilitator Programme supports country-led implementation here.