In the run-up to the 18th Session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (27 September – 1 October 2021), the special event on “Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework” will bring together delegates and stakeholders to discuss the role of biodiversity for food and agriculture in the emerging global biodiversity policy landscape. Synergies between the Commission’s work, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) work on mainstreaming biodiversity across agricultural sectors, the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Post-2020 Global Biodiversity will be explored; and special light will be shed on the important role of the agri-food sectors in implementing the new policy framework.

Discussions on the global biodiversity institutional landscape and the role of the agri-food sectors in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity are very timely. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity is currently negotiating its Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework with a view to adopting it at its 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CBD COP15) in Kunming, China.