'Biodiversity protection is also crisis prevention'

The global biodiversity conference COP17 in Armenia's capital, Yerevan, will be about the future of our planet. For the first time, a broad basis of data is available for a collective assessment of the progress the global community has made in protecting the environment and where there is a need for greater political and financial efforts. Elke Siehl is head of GIZ's Sectoral Department, while Alexander Haack is Director of the Climate Change, Rural Development, Infrastructure Division. They will both travel to Armenia to help ensure policy decisions turn into real-life measures.

How do we benefit from the preservation of biodiversity on the other side of the world? 

Elke Siehl: In many ways. Our food, our economy and our prosperity all depend on functioning ecosystems, worldwide. Healthy forests, soils, rivers and seas underpin our supplies of water, food and raw materials. As such, they contribute to resilient supply chains and economic stability. Changes that occur in tropical forests can affect our food prices and the availability of raw materials. This means protecting biodiversity is also a part of economic security and crisis prevention. We are experiencing this in Germany, too, where heat, drought and pests are putting pressure on our natural resources. 

Natural and species-rich ecosystems provide a better buffer for those pressures. This also protects jobs, while contributing to a stable climate and a society viable for the long term. What is crucial now is that we work together to develop specific solutions that can be financed, and tput them into practice widely. Currently the speed and scope are inadequate to stop the losses of biodiversity by 2030.

How is the world doing in terms of protecting biodiversity? 

Siehl: With the Global Biodiversity Framework, states have set themselves collective targets. This includes protecting at least 30 per cent of the land area and the seas by 2030, halving the destruction of natural habitats, and providing at least USD 200 billion annually to preserve biodiversity. About three quarters of the 196 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity have now submitted their national reports on the achievement of these global objectives. For the first time, there's a broad basis of data that we can use collectively at COP17 to gauge what progress has been made and what political and financial adjustments are needed.

Alexander Haack: The experience from our work around the world shows how we can best protect our natural resources. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Development, and in cooperation with Norway, we've supported eight countries in aligning their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAP) with the international framework. This included, for example, greater involvement of indigenous populations and local communities, opening up new financing channels, and developing more effective conservation area management at local level.  

What difference will GIZ make at COP17?

Siehl: We're bridging the gap between global objectives and real-world actions on the ground – or in other words, we're turning theory into practice. GIZ works with governments, regional organisations, companies, civil society, indigenous peoples and local communities all around the world to achieve biodiversity goals. So we know what works and where there are obstacles. And we know what countries need in order to turn political decisions into concrete measures. We bring this experience into the negotiations on behalf of the German Government.

Is the German private sector part of the solution?

Haack: Many German companies rely on raw materials, water and properly functioning ecosystems. They can be drivers for change, as through their purchasing decisions, investments and business models, they influence value chains and create markets for environmentally sound products. This enables them to protect nature at the same time as creating local jobs and strengthening their commercial competitiveness.

GIZ advises companies and their partners on identifying risks, minimising the adverse impacts on nature and developing solutions – for example for sustainable agriculture, using raw materials and protecting forests. 

Why is it important to involve indigenous peoples and local communities? 

Haack: Indigenous peoples and local communities are essential partners. For generations they have lived in and on functional ecosystems, and they protect large areas of high biodiversity. It's a question of knowledge, rights, having a say in decisions, and economic participation. Examples in Brazil and Peru show that collective territory management can work. Indigenous communities take responsibility for protecting their territories, and at the same time they can develop sustainable income opportunities.

Siehl: It's about making decisions together with indigenous communities and including them in economic opportunities. If states and indigenous communities pull together, nature conservation is more successful.

In what ways does GIZ contribute to biodiversity conservation?

Siehl: GIZ is working with its partners to preserve biodiversity through more than 200 projects in over 60 countries. We're creating conditions for nature conservation to work in the long term – through sustainable agriculture and supply chains, the restoration of ecosystems, improved legal frameworks and new financing models. In 2025 alone, we and our partners contributed to improved protection for around 37.7 million hectares of nature reserves worldwide – which is more than the area of Germany. 

Haack: We bring together countries, institutions, experts and people, and we create spaces where partners can compare and adapt their experiences, and continue developing them collectively. In 2025, GIZ brought together Brazil, Indonesia and the DR Congo to learn from each other. Especially when it comes to biodiversity protection, important experiences and innovations are to be found in the Global South. These countries face similar challenges, but they're seeking solutions in different ways. 

We have the deserts COP, the biodiversity COP, the climate COP, plus the UN Water Conference. Why do all these things have to be considered together?

Siehl: Because nature isn't compartmentalised like our policies. A forest is also a habitat for animals and plants; it stores carbon, holds water and secures incomes. That's why we shouldn't tackle these issues in isolation. If we protect a landscape, for example, we can do something for the climate, water, soil, nutrition and biodiversity at the same time. That's precisely what makes it a great opportunity for international cooperation. 

What can people in Germany do for biodiversity?

Haack: Biodiversity begins on our doorstep. We can make our own habitats more natural – for example in the garden or on the balcony. We can be more conscious of our consumption, considering carefully where our food and products come from and how they are produced. But individual choices will not solve the biodiversity crisis on their own. We also need a good policy framework, and we need companies that change their business models and supply chains.