GREAT BAY--St. Maarten will be represented as part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at one of the world’s most important biodiversity meetings next month, when governments gather in Yerevan, Armenia, for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, known as CBD COP17.
The conference will take place from October 19 to 30 and will mark the first global review of collective progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the international agreement adopted in 2022 to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The framework contains 23 targets to be achieved by 2030, covering areas including conservation, restoration, financing, pollution reduction and sustainable use of nature.
The Netherlands has informed its Parliament that it is preparing the Kingdom’s position for COP17 and will participate in the negotiations together with the concurrent meetings under the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols. The Dutch Government is also organizing a Netherlands Pavilion during the conference, with a strong focus on biodiversity financing, implementation, monitoring and the relationship between biodiversity, climate, food and water.
For St. Maarten, the international discussions could have particular relevance given the country’s dependence on its natural environment, including coastal ecosystems, beaches, coral reefs, marine areas and other natural assets that also support tourism and economic activity.
A major issue at COP17 will be whether countries are making sufficient progress toward the biodiversity targets agreed in 2022. The conference is expected to examine implementation gaps, the availability and quality of biodiversity data, institutional capacity and whether sufficient financing is reaching countries and territories attempting to protect and restore natural environments.
Financing is expected to feature prominently throughout the meeting. The Netherlands has indicated that mobilizing biodiversity funding from public and private sources will be one of the themes it intends to emphasize in Yerevan. Its COP17 pavilion will also focus on nature-based solutions and on connecting biodiversity protection with water management, food security, climate adaptation and economic development.
These discussions could be relevant for St. Maarten, where the ability to monitor biodiversity and measure environmental change depends heavily on the availability of reliable data, technical expertise and financial resources.
The biodiversity status of the Caribbean islands within the Kingdom has increasingly become part of wider scientific monitoring. A 2026 biodiversity status report covers Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten and was prepared to provide policymakers and other stakeholders with a clearer picture of the state of nature across the Kingdom.
One of the issues likely to emerge for St. Maarten is how the country’s own biodiversity priorities are being incorporated into the position that will be presented internationally.
The Kingdom consists of the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten, while Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba form part of the Netherlands. Foreign relations are handled at Kingdom level, making coordination between the countries particularly important when international environmental agreements are discussed.
However, a publicly available final delegation list identifying who will attend COP17 on behalf of the Kingdom, and whether St. Maarten will have its own representative physically present in Yerevan, has not yet been located.
The Dutch Government has confirmed preparations involving several ministries, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Netherlands Pavilion will also serve as a meeting space for government representatives, businesses, scientific institutions, civil society organizations and international partners.
COP17 will be preceded by a Leaders’ Summit on Biodiversity on October 16, bringing together heads of state and government, international organizations, scientists and other senior participants. A ministerial high-level segment is also scheduled for October 27 and 28.
It has not yet been publicly confirmed which Dutch political officeholder will lead the Kingdom delegation at the conference or participate in the high-level segment.
For St. Maarten, the summit could provide opportunities extending beyond the negotiations themselves. International discussions on biodiversity financing, technical assistance, data collection, ecosystem restoration and climate adaptation could potentially support small-island jurisdictions that face significant capacity and funding constraints.
The meeting is also expected to examine whether governments have moved sufficiently from promises to implementation since 2022. COP17 falls roughly halfway between the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal framework and its 2030 deadline, making the Yerevan meeting an important checkpoint for determining where progress is falling behind and what additional action may be required.
For St. Maarten, key questions ahead of the conference include whether Government has been consulted on the Kingdom position, whether local biodiversity priorities have been submitted, what information is being used to measure the country’s progress and whether St. Maarten will seek access to additional international financing and technical assistance following COP17.
The final composition of the Kingdom delegation and St. Maarten’s direct participation are therefore expected to be important details as the October conference approaches.
