Discuss the aim and goals of Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework. Mention India’s commitments and initiatives to achieve the goals and targets of this framework giving suitable examples.
🧭 How to think about this question · directive: “discuss / mention”
Decode the demand
- Two directives: 'discuss the aim and goals' asks for the framework's mission, 2050 goals and the main 2030 targets with their logic; 'mention India's commitments and initiatives' asks for a named list, each tied to a target, with examples.
- The framework in one line: the CBD's post-2020 plan (COP15, December 2022) to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, replacing the missed Aichi Targets.
- Three things to answer: what the framework aims at, what its goals and headline targets are, and how India has committed on paper and acted on the ground.
- The trap: reciting a scheme list without linking each scheme to a Kunming-Montreal target; the examiner wants the mapping, not the inventory.
Think in a structure
- Open with the adoption date, the mission and the 2050 vision, then turn to India in one clause.
- Goals heading: four goals, then the targets most quoted (30x30, restoration, subsidies, finance), with numbers only in sub-points; a one-line point on how progress is reviewed.
- India heading: a table mapping target → commitment → example is the visual; then points on commitment (NBSAP), conservation, restoration, sustainable use, global voice, gaps.
- End positively: three measures a policymaker can take, then a constitutional anchor, Article 51A(g), as the conclusion.
Facts checked at source (6)· open
- India's updated NBSAP, released at COP16 (Cali, 2024), sets 23 national targets aligned to the Kunming-Montreal framework.PIB — India launches updated NBSAP at CBD COP16 (October 2024) ↗“The updated NBSAP aligns with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, setting 23 national biodiversity targets through an extensive consultative process involving diverse stakeholders.”
- Target 19 seeks at least US$200 billion a year for biodiversity from all sources by 2030.CBD — Kunming-Montreal GBF, Target 19 ↗“Target 19 Mobilize $200 Billion per Year for Biodiversity From all Sources, Including $30 Billion Through International Finance”
- Target 19(a) raises international biodiversity finance to developing countries to at least US$20 billion a year by 2025 and US$30 billion a year by 2030.CBD — Kunming-Montreal GBF, Target 19 ↗“in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, to at least US$ 20 billion per year by 2025, and to at least US$ 30 billion per year by 2030”
- Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal framework seeks to conserve 30% of land, waters and seas by 2030.CBD — Kunming-Montreal GBF, Target 3 ↗“Target 3 Conserve 30% of Land, Waters and Seas”
- Target 2 seeks to bring 30% of all degraded ecosystems under effective restoration by 2030.CBD — Kunming-Montreal GBF, Target 2 ↗“Target 2 Restore 30% of all Degraded Ecosystems”
- Target 18 seeks to reduce harmful incentives by at least US$500 billion a year by 2030.CBD — Kunming-Montreal GBF, Target 18 ↗“Reduce Harmful Incentives by at Least $500 Billion per Year, and Scale Up Positive Incentives for Biodiversity”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Guidance: Minimalist IAS, checked 8 Nov 2026 (how we verify). ·
Model answer· 426words · Minimalist IAS
At CBD COP15 in Montreal (December 2022), Parties adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework after none of the Aichi Targets was fully met. Its mission: halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, towards a 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature. India has rebuilt its national plan around it.
Aim and goals of the framework
- Four 2050 goals: (A) healthy ecosystems and species, (B) sustainable use, (C) fair benefit-sharing, including digital sequence information, (D) finance, capacity and technology for all Parties.
- Twenty-three 2030 targets: reduce threats to nature, meet people's needs through sustainable use, and build the tools and finance for implementation.
- Target 3: conserve 30% of land, waters and seas (30x30); Target 2: bring 30% of degraded ecosystems under restoration.
- Target 18: cut harmful incentives and subsidies by at least US$500 billion a year.
- Finance (Target 19): US$200 billion a year from all sources by 2030, including international flows of US$20 billion by 2025 and US$30 billion by 2030.
- Accountability: every Party updates its NBSAP, reports nationally, and faces a global review of collective progress.
India's commitments and initiatives
| Framework target | India's commitment | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 30x30 conservation | Protected areas, Ramsar sites, OECMs | Project Tiger, Project Cheetah, Amrit Dharohar |
| 30% restoration | 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 | Green India Mission, MISHTI, Aravalli Green Wall |
| Benefit-sharing | Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 | People's Biodiversity Registers, ABS |
| Sustainable consumption | Mission LiFE | Natural farming, Green Credit Programme |
- Commitment: the updated NBSAP released at COP16 (Cali, 2024) sets 23 national targets mirroring the global 23.
- Conservation: tiger and elephant reserves, Project Cheetah at Kuno, Ramsar wetlands under Amrit Dharohar, community reserves counted towards 30x30.
- Restoration: Green India Mission, MISHTI for mangroves, Nagar Van Yojana, Aravalli Green Wall, towards 26 million hectares restored by 2030.
- Sustainable use and sharing: People's Biodiversity Registers by Biodiversity Management Committees, simplified access and benefit-sharing under the 2023 Act, Mission LiFE as everyday practice.
- Global voice: International Big Cat Alliance; insistence that developed countries deliver Target 19 finance and technology.
- Gaps: finance, weak species and invasive-species data, forest diversion for linear infrastructure.
Way forward
- Count OECMs: notify sacred groves and community conserved areas as Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures, reaching 30x30 without displacing people.
- Mainstream biodiversity: cumulative impact assessment and wildlife corridors built into every infrastructure clearance.
- Fund the local tier: state budgets and green credits for Biodiversity Management Committees, so registers drive real benefit-sharing.
Article 51A(g) makes protecting forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife a citizen's duty; delivering India's 23 targets by 2030 means turning that duty into funded local action under the Kunming-Montreal compass.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 8 Nov 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
