Netherlands preparing Kingdom position for UN biodiversity conference in Armenia

The Netherlands is preparing the Kingdom’s position for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP17, according to the Dutch Government. The conference is scheduled for 19 to 30 October 2026 in Yerevan, Armenia, and St. Maarten is one of the Kingdom’s constituent countries.

The meeting will be the first global review of progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022. The framework has 23 targets for 2030 covering conservation, restoration, financing, pollution reduction and sustainable use of nature.

The Dutch Government said it will take part in COP17 negotiations alongside meetings under the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols. It also plans a Netherlands Pavilion focused on biodiversity financing, implementation, monitoring, and links between biodiversity, climate, food and water.

A Leaders’ Summit on Biodiversity is scheduled for 16 October. A ministerial high-level segment is scheduled for 27 and 28 October.

Foreign relations are handled at Kingdom level, according to the report. The Kingdom consists of the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten, while Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba are part of the Netherlands.