Religion and spirituality are deeply grounded in care for the natural world and have led to some of the most enduring social movements in history. Within the context of the recently adopted Kunmin-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) and the whole-of-society approach, religious and spiritual groups are, because of their sizeable reach and influence, an important and natural constituency to achieve a nature-positive world and catalyze the implementation of the KMGBF.

Overall, faith-based organizations (FBOs) manage 8% of the earth’s habitable land surface, 5% of all commercial forests, 50% of schools worldwide and 10% of the world’s total financial institutions.

This briefing paper provides key highlights and pathways to engage faith groups and faith leaders in the implementation of the KMGBF, sharing concrete ideas for selected targets of the KMGBF. This can be especially useful to development actors and policymakers in their implementation efforts.

Finally, the paper shares recommendations on how to move forward together in advocacy and action. These focus on:

• Partnership at key political moments
• FBO contributions to developing and revising National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs)
• Engagement towards the Convention on Biological Diversity COP 16 (2024)
• Development of faith-specific resources and capacity building
• Tracking of faith engagement with the KMGBF