2024 was a year of stark contrasts marked by political turbulence and geopolitical instability, yet environment and nature conservation remained at the forefront of international priorities. The historic triple COP—uniting UNFCCC COP29, UNCCD COP16, and CBD COP16—stood as a testament to the global commitment to addressing interconnected environmental challenges with increased calls for an integrated approach to change. CBD COP16, led by one of the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s co-chair, Colombia, not only reinforced the interlinkages between climate and nature but also demonstrated ongoing global commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

Throughout 2024, countries participated in regional dialogues as they worked on their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), which were submitted alongside ambitious national targets. The first conference since the launch of the GBF, these NBSAPs mark significant milestones in biodiversity protection.

However, 2024 also served as a reminder of the urgency of our environmental crisis. December brought the release of two crucial IPBES reports—the Nexus and Transformative Change assessments— which laid bare the challenges ahead and underscored the imperative for accelerated action.

The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership emerged as a beacon of hope. It achieved remarkable milestones in 2024, including reaching 70 members: 46 countries, 5 institutions, and 19 non-state actors, reflecting its role in driving collective action towards living in harmony with nature. By establishing core services, a strong governance structure, and innovative tools, the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership has paved the way for countries to fast-track their NBSAPs in 2025.

The past year marked significant milestones for the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, reflecting the collaborative spirit and drive of its members:

Governance 

Steering Committee meetings in February and September 2024 laid the groundwork for stronger governance and collaboration. Key decisions included the transition to a permanent governance structure, approving facilitator recruitment strategies and membership procedures, setting up and launching the MatchMaking Mechanism, approving the roadmap to COP16, and providing a mandate to prepare a long-term plan for the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, including business model alignment, members’ work plan, financial plan, matchmaking milestones and organizational efficiency. June and September meetings brought together our membership to align on progress and priorities, setting the stage for impactful collaboration.

Facilitator Programme

Our first cohort of 12 facilitator hosts -Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mozambique, Panama, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, and Vanuatu/SPREP- was selected to enhance in-country and regional capacity to implement NBSAPs. Facilitator recruitment was completed for Colombia, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, and Mozambique, with the remainder expected to be in place by 2025. At COP16, a second call for Expressions of Interest was launched, with 23 applications received, signalling growing demand from countries for added institutional capacity to accelerate biodiversity action.

Membership Growth

Membership has expanded to 70, encompassing a diverse group of countries, institutions, and non-state actors across various geographies. This growth ensures broad representation across regions, ecosystems, and socio-economic contexts, aligning with global biodiversity priorities and fostering collaboration to achieve the GBF targets. Strengthened political momentum for NBSAPs has enhanced the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s capacity to mobilize political will and resources for biodiversity action. Our host institutions—UNEP, UNDP, and CBD—have been instrumental in this expansion, providing technical expertise, institutional support, and global convening power.

Representation in biodiversity hotspots has also expanded, with members from megadiverse countries such as Australia, Bolivia*, China*, Colombia*, Costa Rica*, DRC*, Ecuador*, Guatemala*, Kenya*, Madagascar*, Mexico*, Peru* and Philippines*. (* Members of the Group of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries (LMMC).

Implementation on the ground

The GIZ Global Project “Strengthening national implementation of global biodiversity targets” supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Norway through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) has made considerable progress across eight countries –Brazil, Colombia, DRC, Indonesia, Laos, Madagascar, Namibia and Peru. Efforts included support of NBSAP revision processes with a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach, support of consultation processes, especially with and for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the exploration of synergies in the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and NBSAPs, and further coordination with partners to support prioritized measures.

Funded by the Government of Canada, the gender and biodiversity project “Accelerating systemic change for gender equality and biodiversity” will support seven countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Comoros, Costa Rica, Eswatini, Tajikistan, Thailand, and Togo) in applying a gender-transformative systems thinking approach. The objective is to increase technical and institutional capacity, awareness, and outreach to relevant stakeholders by identifying problems and co-creating country-led solutions. Lessons learned will be shared in global knowledge exchanges across the seven countries and beyond, contributing to the implementation of the GBF, especially targets 22 and 23, as well as the CBD Gender Plan of Action 2022-2030.

Innovative MatchMaking Mechanism

The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s MatchMaking Mechanism was set-up in 2024 and successfully launched at CBD COP16 to connect country requests with technical and financial support, addressing implementation gaps across GBF targets.

Supported by a coalition of nations, including Canada, Germany, Norway, and Brazil, among others, and with the leadership of the Government of Colombia, the MatchMaking Mechanism’s launch at the High-Level Segment Reception marked a milestone in accelerating NBSAP implementation globally, strengthening countries’ commitments and collaboration to achieve the GBF.

Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) pledged €19.5 million to push the MatchMaking Mechanism forward. These resources have been allocated to the NBSAP Accelerator Action Account.

As of today, 37 countries have submitted requests through the MatchMaking Mechanism, with 18 matches already in place and 13 requests in the pipeline.

Advocacy and communications

The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership has been positioned as a key partner and provider of services in the biodiversity and conservation space. UNEA-6, CBD SBSSTA/SBI and COP16 provided key platforms to showcase early support, including the launch of the MatchMaking Mechanism, the announcement of the first cohort of 12 countries and regions selected under the Facilitator Programme, and several events positioning NBSAPs such as “Bridging the Gap: Knowledge exchange for NBSAP Acceleration”, “Connecting the Dots: Aligning national nature and climate policies and actions”, and COP16 High-Level Segment closing event “Accelerating biodiversity action: enhancing global collaboration to live in harmony with Nature”. The first-ever NBSAP Day during COP16 gave a unique opportunity to discuss challenges and opportunities with members and other stakeholders in implementing NBSAPs, driving key topics for mainstreaming biodiversity, including climate-nature, social inclusion, food systems, finance, and peace with nature.

The website experienced significant growth in 2024, with unique visitors rising by 202% (785 to 2,369) and first-time users increasing by 306% (556 to 2,260). Page views more than doubled, reaching 5,325—a 123% growth. On average, the site saw 1,560 unique visitors and 2,400 page views monthly. User engagement peaked mid-year, with average session duration reaching 1 minute and 12 seconds in June, well above the annual average of 52 seconds, and views per user averaging 2.5.

LinkedIn performance also surged, gaining 695 new followers for a total of 746. Over the last three months, page views grew by 97.1%, unique visitors by 120.3%, and content impressions by 223.1% (22,824 total). Engagement rose sharply, with reactions increasing by 644.8% and reposts by 185.7%. Visitors from Colombia, Kenya, the US, UK, Germany, and beyond reflect the platform’s expanding global reach.

In 2025, the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership will scale its impact, deepening stakeholder engagement, and ensuring long-term sustainability. With a solid governance structure and core services now in place, our main priorities are:

• Consolidate our matchmaking services through increased engagement from countries, donors and service suppliers.
• Work with facilitators to surface requests and strengthen our outreach and resource mobilization efforts.
• Enhance political and technical engagement from members, including through impactful Steering Committee meetings and new governance arrangements, such as the operationalization of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG).
• Work on a long-term plan for the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership including our business model and long-term sustainability.

The challenges are immense, but the opportunities to build a sustainable, biodiverse future are boundless. Together, the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s members are proving that ambitious, collective action is possible—and essential.