Implementing the UN Common Approach to Biodiversity: An Assessment of UN System Engagement in India

Purpose and scope of the report

The UN Common Approach commits the UN system to “mainstream biodiversity and catalyse collective action to address the drivers of biodiversity loss” within its policy and programme planning1. By systematically embedding biodiversity considerations into biodiversity dependent portfolios, UN Country Teams and specialized agencies equip Member States to translate global mainstreaming targets (e.g. KMGBF
Targets 17 & 18) into actionable national strategies. Functioning as the UN’s internal delivery mechanism for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), the Common Approach aligns 15 medium-term objectives, governance structures and operational modalities with the Framework’s four long-term goals and twenty-three 2030 targets. This alignment ensures that UN support is coherent, avoids duplication, and leverages cross-agency synergies—whether in deploying nature-based solutions, mobilizing biodiversity finance, upholding rights-based approaches, or strengthening monitoring and reporting systems. 

This report has been developed to map and highlight the collective effort of UN entities in India in supporting the integration and mainstreaming of biodiversity across policies and programmes. This report therefore sets out to do the following:

· Map ongoing initiatives, flagship programmes in India that foster biodiversity mainstreaming as per the 50+ ways identified under the UN Common Approach to Biodiversity
· Map the collective efforts of the UN system in India to support India’s implementation of the KMGBF
· Highlight best practices and lessons learned from inter-agency collaboration
· Identify gaps and recommends priority actions to accelerate national progress toward the KMGBF’s 2030 and 2050 ambitions
· Serve as a reference for UN Country Teams, central and state governments, and development partners to deepen coordinated action on biodiversity 

The overall aim of this report is to delineate how the UN Common Approach operationalizes the KM-GBF in the Indian context, supporting strategic planning, strengthening partnership frameworks and galvanizing collective impact in safeguarding India’s rich biodiversity.