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SOUTH AFRICA - OFFICIAL HOST OF 2026 IDB, ON 22 MAY
HOSTED WITH NBSAP CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE - 20 TO 21 MAY 2026 AND GOVERNMENT LEKGOTLA - 19 MAY 2026
The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has invited the Republic of South Africa to serve as the official host of this year’s IDB, on 22 May 2026, building on the momentum from South Africa's recent G20 Presidency and as a host of the Subregional Technical Support Centre for Southern Africa supporting nine countries in Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework.
THREE ASPECTS
WORTH CELEBRATING
IT IS FOR NATURE AND PEOPLE, TOGETHER
South Africa is currently finalising its NBSAP for the 2026-2035 decade. Its development has sought to reflect the whole of government and whole of society approach in line with the KMGBF, involving indigenous peoples, local communities, women and youth groups, academia, civil society, and the private sector to help shape the country's biodiversity future.
LOCAL BIODIVERSITY ACTORS ARE EMPOWERED FOR IMPACT
South Africa’s whole-of-society approach to safeguarding biodiversity involves enabling community-led local action. There are many examples illustrating settings where people are finding ways to live in harmony with nature. To the east in Mpumalanga, restoration efforts in the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve are restoring ecosystems while creating opportunities for communities.
PROTECTED AREAS ARE EXPANDING WITH A COMMITMENT TO EFFECTIVE CONSERVATION
Through partnerships with indigenous peoples and local communities, landholders, and local institutions, the national authorities are working to ensure effective protection through participatory management and inclusive approaches to addressing human-wildlife conflict.
SEPEDI
TSHIVENDA
ISIZULU
STRATEGIC
IMPORTANCE
SOUTH AFRICA - A MEGADIVERSE COUNTRY
South Africa in one of the megadiverse countries, hosting exceptional levels of species richness and endemism including the Cape Floristic Kingdom which is unique to South Africa. This provides opportunities to reinforce South Africa’s commitment to the implementation of the global priorities.
A SPOTLIGHT TO SOUTH AFRICA AND MOMENTUM TOWARDS CBD COP 17
The IDB will provide a spotlight to South Africa and building momentum towards CBD COP 17 to be held in Armenia by also launching the 20 year report on stewardship which presents a comprehensive assessment of twenty years of implementation of South Africa’s Biodiversity Stewardship Programme, analysing its development, impacts, lessons learnt, and future requirements within a complex socio-economic and environmental context.
Over the past twenty years, Biodiversity Stewardship has secured approximately 2.76 million hectares across 469 sites nationwide, representing around 90% of all terrestrial protected area expansion achieved since the promulgation of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act.
BIODIVERSITY GOVERNANCE LEKGOTLA TO BE HELD ON 19 MAY 2026
The Biodiversity Governance Lekgotla follows on from the 1st online Lekgotla that was held on 30 January 2024 and the Biodiversity Economy and Investment Indaba that was held from 25 to 27 March 2024.
FOCUS OF THE LEKGOTLA 2026 | The Biodiversity Governance Lekgotla 2026 will:
1. Deliberate on implications on emerging biodiversity policy, legislative and international developments to make policy recommendations.
2. Review and finalise draft NBSAP and mandate for UNCBD COP 17.
3. Review and finalise the biodiversity finance plan (BFP) and the associated policy and institutional review (PIR), the biodiversity expenditure review (BER) and the finance needs assessment (FNA).
THE OUTCOME OF THIS GOVERNANCE LEKGOTLA will inform the consultative conference on the NBSAP to be held on 20th and 21st May which will finalise the draft for adoption through the intergovernmental processes for adoption by Cabinet after which it will be submitted ahead of CBD COP 17 in Yerevan Armenia from 19- 30 October 2026.
2026-2036
NBSAP
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN (2026-2036)
NBSAP CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE - 20 TO 21 MAY 2026
The NBSAP consultative conference will be preceded by a government lekgotla where government officials from the three spheres of government will engage and agree on the approach to the NBSAP (2026-2036).
A HIGHLY INCLUSIVE CONSULTATIVE PROCESS
The DFFE is in the process of revising and updating South Africa’s 2nd NBSAP 2015-2025 aligned with the KMGBF, with funding from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The process of revision is highly inclusive.
LESSONS LEARNT FROM NBSAP (2015-2025)
A national stakeholder consultation meeting was held from 3 to 4 July 2025 attended by approximately 200 participants from government, traditional leaders and health practitioners, civil society, academia, youth, indigenous and local communities, non-governmental organisations, women, youth, research organisations, the business and finance community and representatives of sectors related to or dependent on biodiversity. Stakeholders reflected on lessons learnt from the implementation of the NBSAP (2015-2025) and contributed to the co-creation of the NBSAP (2026-2036) aligned to the KMGBF.
A series of thematic focus group meetings were also held during August through September 2025 with a view to interrogate specific national targets and implementation steps.
RELATED
DOCUMENTS
THE BIODIVERSITY FINANCE INITIATIVE (BIOFIN) SOUTH AFRICA
THE BIODIVERSITY FINANCE PLAN (BFP-SA)
APRIL 2026 [PDF - 1 MB]
The BFP-SA provides a strategic roadmap for mobilising and aligning financial resources to support the implementation of South Africa's biodiversity commitments. The plan seeks to transform biodiversity finance from a fragmented and largely public-sector–driven system into a diversified financing architecture that mobilises public, private, and international resources in a coordinated and scalable manner.
THE BIODIVERSITY EXPENDITURE REVIEW (BER-SA)
APRIL 2026 [PDF - 2 MB]
The BER-SA reveals that biodiversity-related spending averaged approximately R15.22 billion per year between 2016 and 2024, with most financing originating from national government institutions, particularly the DFFE and its entities.
THE POLICY + INSITUTIONAL REVIEW (PIR-SA)
MARCH 2026 [PDF - 1.3 MB]
The PIR-SA confirms that South Africa possesses one of the most comprehensive biodiversity policy frameworks globally. However, the analysis highlights significant institutional and fiscal coordination challenges.
SCHEDULE | PROGRAMME FOR EACH EVENT
[DOCUMENTS IN PDF - 499.5 KB, 581.4 KB, 573.3 KB]
19 MAY 2026: Biodiversity Governance Lekgotla.
20-21 MAY 2026: National Consultative Conference on National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).
21 MAY 2026: International Day for Biological Diversity Gala Dinner.
SPEECHES | AND STATEMENTS
PRESENTATIONS
22 MAY 2026
CELEBRATION OF IDB 2026 HOSTED BY THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA