Between the 27th and 28th of January this year, the city of Paris brought together the consortium of experts behind the CO-OP4CBD project for its most recent annual consortium meeting. Hosted by the French National Museum of Natural History, this event represented a valuable opportunity to take stock of the latest developments surrounding the biodiversity science-policy interface and evaluate the project’s present and future role in that context. 

Representatives from each of the consortium’s 9 constituent organisations were in attendance at the meeting. Additionally, they were joined by officials from the European Commission (EC) as well as coordinators and participants in three other EU-funded projects with a similar focal interest in enhancing the role of research in governance - BioAgora, RESPIN and Biodiversa+. This allowed for the discussion to move beyond the minutiae of CO-OP4CBD’s own internal development and address trends and challenges inherent in the global policy landscape surrounding biodiversity targets.

The two-day programme was crafted and moderated by project coordinators from the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity and UNEP-WCMC. A non-exhaustive list of the sessions therein features:

• a report by the EC’s representatives on the state of play defining the global biodiversity policy debate and the European Union’s position in it

• an overview of the notable decisions taken during COP16 Colombia and the developments expected at the summit’s continuation in Rome later this month

• individual showcases of the three guest projects’ aims and progress and how those may be aligned with the consortium’s own in the context of potential synergies

• comprehensive presentations on CO-OP4CBD’s work packages that both took stock of efforts in 2024 and outlined plans for the coming year

• brainstorming on how to enhance the project’s capacity-building and training activities in 2025 and beyond

• an interactive workshop on tackling the emerging and forthcoming trends in biodiversity knowledge support

• an EC-led introduction to the Technical and Scientific Support Centres associated with the Convention on Biological Diversity and how CO-OP4CBD can assist them

Naturally, these individual segments of the programme were complemented by lively discussions among attendees on harnessing the conclusions held within throughout the remainder of the project.

Overall, this third annual meeting reaffirmed the spirit of cooperation and proactiveness that has defined the project since its inception. In keeping with it, pledges were made to continue charting more effective science-based policy support mechanisms at the European and global levels in the context of biodiversity. Stay tuned in 2025 for more exciting updates on the road to that goal!