In 2022, at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Canada, governments from around the world came together to agree on a new set of goals to guide global action through 2030 to halt and reverse nature loss.

Ahead of the next Biodiversity Conference in Colombia (COP16) in October, Nordic civil society is coming together to share experiences and develop joint recommendations for the Nordic countries.

The project Joint Nordic Effort for Biodiversity is led by ForUM, working alongside the network organisations Concord in Sweden and the 92 Group in Denmark. But the project has participants from across the Nordic region.

"Collaboration across Nordic civil society organisations is important because Nordic governments also work closely together. The Nordic countries have different strengths and weaknesses, but also many of the same challenges. Through the project, we can learn from each other and also put more pressure on our own governments," says Ingrid Rostad, senior advisor on nature at ForUM.

The Norwegian civil society's contribution to the project is based on the guide "For naturen" (“For nature”), launched in 2023. The guide is the most comprehensive collection of recommendations ever delivered by a wide range of Norwegian environmental organisations, with agreement on over 300 specific proposals for political, legal, and structural changes needed for Norway to meet the goals of the biodiversity agreement and to stop and reverse the loss of nature.

ForUM hopes to engage civil society organisations and activists from across the Nordic region to participate in the collaborative project.

"It is exciting to work together with civil society organisations from EU countries, which potentially have more access to what is happening in the EU. We, in Norway, have close dialogue with negotiators and our political leadership, but not with the EU, which is an important actor. Together, we can have a broader impact," continues Rostad.

So far, 40 organisations have signed up for the project.

The work will continue in thematic groups, and the project will culminate in a conference in Oslo 27-28 August and a joint publication with recommendations for the Nordic governments ahead of COP16.