The United Nations fully welcomed the Yerevan Declaration and endorsed its call to accelerate implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, noting that its core provisions closely aligned with the organization’s mandate. Kaveh Zahedi, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), made the remarks on October 16 at the Leaders' Summit on Biodiversity held as part of COP17 in Yerevan.

Zahedi stressed that biodiversity was fundamental to food security, rural livelihoods and sustainable development. Halting and reversing biodiversity loss would require transforming approaches to food production and the management of land, forests and water resources.

He said it was encouraging that countries increasingly recognized agriculture and food systems as powerful tools for conserving biodiversity and ensuring its sustainable use.

Countries had committed to restoring nearly one billion hectares of land, which was an encouraging sign of strong ambition. However, significant gaps remained, particularly regarding inland waters and marine and coastal ecosystems.

Zahedi emphasized that the real test was implementation. Countries needed robust monitoring systems to determine what was working effectively and where additional efforts were required. FAO was ready to work with countries and partners in the coming weeks and months to turn the ambitions brought to Yerevan into action, he said.

He concluded that achieving the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework meant conserving and sustainably using biodiversity while strengthening the resilience of agrifood systems.