The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, co-chaired by Colombia and Germany, held its first in-person Steering Committee meeting in Panama City on 19 October 2025, just before the 27th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-27), which convened from 20–24 October 2025. The meeting marked a key milestone for country leadership and coordination, bringing together Steering Committee members to chart priorities for 2026 and define the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s next step on the road to COP17 in Armenia.

As co-chair of the Steering Committee, Edith Bastidas Calderón, Colombia’s Vice Minister of Environmental Policies and Standardization and an Indigenous woman from the Pastos Peoples of Nariño, emphasized the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s whole-of-society approach. She highlighted the importance of including Indigenous Peoples, women, and local communities in creating lasting, transformative change for nature and people. Remarks by both Bastidas  and Germany’s Toa Loaiza Lange reaffirmed the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s role as a key mechanism for supporting and accelerating implementation of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework through supporting coordinated, country-led action, including through its MatchMaking Mechanism and Facilitator Programme.

Steering Committee members advanced discussions on resource mobilization for NBSAP implementation and explored ways to deepen the integration of climate and nature goals in national planning. They endorsed the development of a Nature–Climate Synergies Strategy, establishing a clear mandate to respond more proactively to country requests that integrate biodiversity and climate targets. The mandate aims to align updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) more closely with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), while paving the way for greater synergies with other multilateral environmental agreements. Through this direction, the Steering Committee is charting a clear course toward 2026 in alignment with country priorities.

The Steering Committee also reviewed and updated its membership and participation guidelines for institutional and non-state partners, and made progress on strengthening its organizational structure and rotational leadership roles. These operational steps aim to make the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership faster and more responsive to on-the-ground requests.

The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership’s presence at SBSTTA-27 underscored its growing role in helping countries translate the Global Biodiversity Framework into action. The Steering Committee meeting brought together a diverse, experienced team that embodies knowledge, collaboration, and hope. As Parties move toward COP17 in Armenia next year, Steering Committee members reaffirmed their shared commitment to scaling up cooperation, financing, and knowledge exchange to support countries in delivering on their biodiversity targets.