The CBD Women’s Caucus submitted views and information in preparation for the mid-term review of the Gender Plan of Action (2023–2030), drawing on contributions from member organisations across Africa, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and globally.

The submission documents the Caucus’s concrete actions under three expected outcomes of the Gender Plan of Action:

• Expected Outcome 1: All people, in particular all women and girls, have equal opportunity and capacity to contribute to the three objectives of the Convention
• Expected Outcome 2: Biodiversity policy, planning and programming decisions address equally the perspectives, interests, needs and human rights of all people, in particular of all women and girls
• Expected Outcome 3: Enabling conditions are created to ensure gender-responsive implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

It also includes standalone submissions from nine member organisations and a history of the CBD Women’s Caucus.

The CBD Women’s Caucus submitted views on the strategic review of the Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA), calling for a decisive shift from a narrow protected-area model toward a rights-based, gender-responsive approach to area-based conservation — one that recognizes women and girls, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and environmental human rights defenders as rights-holders and decision-makers, not passive beneficiaries.

The submission responds to three questions:

• What aspects should be incorporated to improve alignment with the KM-GBF?
• How should the implementation approach be revised to better contribute to Target 3?
• Which PoWPA goals and activities should be prioritised by 2030?

The CBD Women’s Caucus, on behalf of its more than 800 members across 137 countries, submitted concrete evidence of how women and girls — including from Indigenous Peoples, local communities and Afro-descendant peoples — are advancing gender-responsive biodiversity governance, implementation, monitoring and accountability under the KM-GBF.

The submission presents 12 areas of collective contribution from the Caucus itself, with a primary focus on Target 23 and Section C, covering participation and leadership in CBD decision-making, capacity development, gender-responsive resource mobilisation, gender in NBSAPs, data and monitoring, cross-MEA coherence, institutional strengthening, communications, the Gender & Biodiversity Champions initiative, youth engagement, language and accessibility, and direct technical expertise in CBD bodies.

It also features contributions from 10 member organisations operating across Bosnia and Herzegovina, El Salvador, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico, Mali, Rapa Nui and globally — demonstrating on-the-ground action by women-led and grassroots organisations in KM-GBF implementation.

The CBD Women’s Caucus submitted case studies and information to the CBD Secretariat documenting how women from indigenous and local communities are driving biodiversity action on the ground — and what the global report on KM-GBF collective progress must reflect.

The submission draws on contributions from member organisations across Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, covering 12 case studies from Indonesia, Rwanda, Chile (Rapa Nui), Mali and Cameroon. Each case study demonstrates how women’s traditional knowledge, leadership, and ecological stewardship directly contribute to KM-GBF implementation.

From seed banking in Mali to agrobiodiversity markets in Borneo, beekeeping cooperatives near Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, indigenous territorial governance in Rapa Nui, and traditional fishery management in Cameroon — these are not token examples. They are evidence of women as rights holders, knowledge holders and leaders.

The submission also outlines the CBD Women’s Caucus’ own activities to engage, involve and support indigenous peoples and local communities, including through the Gender & Biodiversity Data Initiative (with IIED), advocacy on biodiversity finance, and constituency coordination ahead of CBD meetings.

In response to the Convention on Biological Diversity’s open call for commitments from actors other than national Governments towards the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), the CBD Women’s Caucus submitted a series of three formal commitments grounded in gender equality, human rights and environmental justice.

These commitments reflect the collective work, advocacy and long-standing engagement of women and girls in all their diversity — including from Indigenous Peoples, local and Afro-descendant communities — in advancing gender-responsive biodiversity governance, implementation, monitoring and accountability under the Framework.

Through these submissions, the CBD Women’s Caucus seeks to contribute concrete actions and collaborative efforts that support the effective implementation of the KM-GBF and the CBD Gender Plan of Action (2023–2030), while strengthening the recognition of the essential role played by women-led organisations, feminist movements, grassroots actors and rights holders in achieving the goals and targets of the Framework.

Following the adoption of Decision 16/31 on the monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), the Conference of the Parties invited Parties, the CBD Women’s Caucus, and other relevant stakeholders to submit views on the inclusion of additional headline, component, and complementary indicators for the KM-GBF Monitoring Framework.

In response, this submission presents the CBD Women’s Caucus’ recommendations to strengthen the monitoring framework through more gender-responsive and rights-based indicators. It highlights priorities to improve the measurement of women’s participation and leadership, land and resource rights, environmental human rights defenders, access to finance, and gender-responsive biodiversity governance, while promoting the integration of Indigenous and local knowledge, participatory monitoring, and disaggregated data to support equitable implementation of the KM-GBF.