OTTAWA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday appointed Astrid Schomaker of Germany as the next Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

At the helm of the Secretariat of the world's foremost Multilateral Environmental Agreement on biodiversity, Schomaker will work to translate the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (the Biodiversity Plan), adopted in December 2022, into action at all levels, according to a press release issued by the CBD.

Protect and restore, prosper with nature, share benefits fairly and invest and collaborate -- the four goals of the Biodiversity Plan will shape the new UN Biodiversity chief's priorities, the release said.

The 16th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP 16) will take place from 21 October to 1 November 2024 in Cali, Colombia. By the time they meet in Cali, Parties to the Convention are expected to submit revised National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) which are aligned with the Biodiversity Plan, the release said.

In the lead-up to COP 16, Parties are expected to move towards closing the biodiversity finance gap, with the first milestone of increasing total biodiversity-related international financial resources from developed countries to at least 20 billion U.S. dollars per year by 2025, the release said, adding that since Parties have only a few years to achieve the targets of the Biodiversity Plan (due in 2030), additional and adequate financial resources are needed in addition to those already mobilized through the Global Environment Facility (GEF), including the recently established Global Biodiversity Framework Fund.

David Cooper, who has led the CBD Secretariat since February 2023, will continue to serve as the acting executive secretary until Schomaker assumes her functions.

Opened for signature in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and entered into force in December 1993, the CBD is an international treaty for the conservation of biodiversity. With 196 Parties, the CBD has near universal participation among countries. Enditem

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