Nigeria's Environment Minister at COP17 in Armenia as biodiversity financing talks enter final stretch
Nigeria's Environment Minister Balarabe Lawal arrived in Yerevan, Armenia on Monday for the 17th UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17), where the high-level segment kicks off today with 140 ministers expected. The conference enters its final week with negotiations focused on turning the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework into concrete action before Friday's close.
First-week progress includes four COP17 decisions on invasive species, gender, education and knowledge management, plus eight Cartagena Protocol decisions on biosafety and two Nagoya Protocol decisions on benefit-sharing. Over $1.8 billion has been mobilised globally, but the core fight remains financing — especially for developing nations.
African negotiators, including Nigeria, are pushing for equitable benefit-sharing from digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources through the Cali Fund established at COP16. The continent argues its biological resources fuel global commercial activity while benefits don't adequately return. The framework also demands redirecting $500 billion annually in harmful subsidies by 2030.
Nigeria secured a $50,000 Rapid Deployment Mechanism grant alongside six other High Ambition Coalition countries to accelerate 30x30 conservation targets — protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. Minister Lawal will deliver Nigeria's national statement during the high-level segment.
With finance ministers now at the table, the signal is clear: biodiversity loss is an economic problem requiring economic solutions. The second week must resolve who pays, how much, and through what mechanisms — decisions that will shape Nigeria's access to conservation funding and its capacity to meet global targets.