2021, and the decade ahead, will be critical for tackling the global nature crisis and securing a better, healthier and more resilient future for people and planet.

Building back better from the COVID-19 crisis will be a collective challenge. The pandemic has reinforced the need for urgent action to tackle the degradation of nature. As the world invests to recover from the devastating impacts of the pandemic, opportunities need to be realized to deliver transformative change in the relationship between people and nature, for a nature-positive, carbon-neutral, and equitable future.

UNEP-WCMC will deliver on our role to provide trusted knowledge and support its use to improve the resilience of ecological, economic and social systems.

The Centre will also continue to play a leading role in shaping and supporting global environmental agreements. The UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, with the expected adoption of a new global biodiversity framework, the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow, and UN Food Systems Summit, will be springboard moments for the future of our planet, and UNEP-WCMC will be helping to shape their outcomes.

In 2021, the Centre will continue to lead and innovate. We will finalise a new and impactful UNEP-WCMC strategy, in line with the UNEP Medium-Term Strategy 2022-2025, and we will continue our work to bring biodiversity data and knowledge together and available to the world. With the climate and nature agendas merging and political support at the highest levels growing, the demand for information on biodiversity is growing. We will address this need through the new Planet + initiative, transforming the way we collect, manage, share, and make available biodiversity data. We will drive progress on conservation ambitions, accelerate action for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, work to ensure an economy that works for nature and people, and strengthen the use of nature-based solutions for sustainable development.

UNEP-WCMC will continue work with partners and leaders across all sectors of society, ensuring that decision-makers have the information they need to make positive choices for nature and people.