The 17th UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17) opens in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, on Monday. Representatives from nearly 200 countries are gathering to assess progress toward global targets to protect nature and the world’s oceans.

The two-week conference, which runs until October 30, will focus on reviewing progress toward 23 targets agreed under a landmark global biodiversity agreement four years ago.

A key goal is to protect at least 30 per cent of the world’s land and marine areas by 2030.

With the deadline approaching, an interim report released ahead of the conference warns that efforts to implement the agreed targets are falling short and must be accelerated.

Conservation groups have also criticised the slow pace of progress, with funding emerging as a major sticking point.

UN secretary-general António Guterres recently praised the progress made ahead of COP17 but warns that significant challenges remain.

He stated, “The report shows that many of the critical elements of progress are still missing in action,” adding that the “war on nature has not yet ended.”

Germany’s environment minister Carsten Schneider, who is leading the country’s delegation and is due to travel to Yerevan during the second week of the conference, offers a mixed assessment.

While acknowledging some progress, he says the international community is still falling far short of its goals.

“We are nowhere near where we need to be,” Mr Schneider says.

(dpa/NAN)