Fungi take a step towards recognition in global biodiversity policy as COP17 opens in Armenia
The Fungal Conservation Pledge, launched by Chile and the United Kingdom in 2024, has now been signed by 14 countries. Also, recommendations from two UN biodiversity scientific advisory meetings have included fungi across four policy areas, bringing them into the decisions and discussions leading up to COP17.
Fungal conservation is gaining ground in international policy. As governments gather in Yerevan for the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17), fungal biodiversity is gaining ground in the international policy process.
The Fungal Conservation Pledge, co-launched in 2024 by Chile and the United Kingdom with the collaboration of the Fungi Foundation, has now been signed by 14 countries. The Pledge calls for the recognition of fungi as an independent kingdom of life in national and international legislation, policies and agreements, helping ensure their conservation and the continued benefits they provide to ecosystems and people in the face of the triple environmental crisis.
Building on this momentum, the Pledge signatory countries have been working to bring fungi into global biodiversity discussions ahead of COP17. Their efforts have resulted in the inclusion of fungi in recommendations from two key scientific meetings of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), covering four policy areas. Now, the goal is to turn these recommendations into action through the negotiations at COP17.
Including Fungi in the Conversation
Despite their essential roles in ecosystem functioning and nutrient cycling, and the fact that their biomass is estimated to be six times greater than that of all animals combined, fungi account for less than 0.8% of global conservation priorities, with just 1,300 species assessed by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Greater recognition within international biodiversity policy is therefore essential to ensure that their vital contributions to ecosystems and people are protected. Their historical omission from conservation frameworks means their diversity and ecological importance are often omitted in conservation planning.Â
The Fungi Foundation is calling for the inclusion of the fungal biodiversity in decisions on five key areas of the Convention’s work:
Recognize fungal biodiversity as a critical component of soil biodiversity.
Recognize wild fungi as an integral component of sustainable wildlife management.
Strengthen the integration of fungal biodiversity into the updated Programme of Work on Protected Areas by recognizing the importance of above and below ground ecological networks and processes.
Strengthen the identification and prioritization of areas of particular importance for biodiversity, ecosystem functions and ecosystem services, including underrepresented ecosystems and areas supporting below-ground ecological networks.
Strengthen synergies between biodiversity and climate change by supporting the adoption of the multilevel road map for enhancing cooperation, policy coherence and synergies across the Rio Conventions, where fungi play critical roles in nutrient cycle and carbon-related processes.Â
Together, these recommendations represent an opportunity to strengthen the effective implementation of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the global plan to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
The progress at COP17 comes at a pivotal moment for fungal conservation. The Global Strategy for Fungal Conservation (GSFC), developed by the Global Fungal Conservation Network, provides a dedicated framework to help countries integrate fungi into nature recovery, sustainable agriculture, and climate adaptation efforts worldwide.
Set to launch at COP17, the GSFC outlines priorities for filling critical knowledge gaps, protecting and restoring fungi and their habitats, strengthening collaboration between communities and governments, and integrating fungal conservation into policy and plans at every level. Together, these efforts can help countries move beyond recognising fungi as part of biodiversity to taking concrete steps to conserve them.
“Fungi make systems into ecosystems. They shape and sustain the environment, and hold the potential to address some of our greatest environmental challenges. Recognising them in conservation frameworks is changing how we understand and protect nature. With a greater recognition within the CBD, countries could begin incorporating fungi into biodiversity monitoring, conservation planning, ecosystem restoration and national biodiversity strategies.” Giuliana Furci, Executive Director of the Fungi Foundation.
A Growing Movement Beyond International Negotiations
Momentum is also building at national and local levels, as governments and institutions begin to recognise fungi alongside animals and plants in conservation policies.
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The growing recognition of fungi aligns with the Fauna, Flora & Funga Proposal (3F), which, since 2018, has called for funga to be explicitly included wherever fauna and flora are recognised. More than a change in terminology, adopting mycologically inclusive language makes all macroscopic organisms visible in public policy, education and public discourse, opening the door to dedicated research, funding and protection.
In Alaska, the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes has incorporated “all flora, fauna, and funga of the biota” into its Constitution, recognising all three as part of the Indigenous ecology within its jurisdiction.Â
In Uruguay, a draft Law on the Protection and Conservation of Fungal Heritage has been formally submitted to the House of Representatives, marking the beginning of the parliamentary process for a proposal to recognise, research and preserve the country’s funga.
In Australia, the Labor Party has recognised fungi alongside flora and fauna, potentially opening the way for this recognition to be reflected in federal environmental legislation.
In Austria, Vienna included the term “funga” alongside fauna and flora in its Nature Conservation Law.
The shift is also reaching mainstream language. The Cambridge Dictionary has added funga as a recognised English word, defining it as all the fungi that grow in a particular area or during a particular period. This milestone reflects the growing use of the term and interest in fungi.
“These developments are part of a wider effort to address the long-standing exclusion of fungi from biodiversity policies. Being that the main focus of COP17 is to review progress in implementing global biodiversity commitments, it is also an opportunity to recognise fungi as essential allies in achieving these goals, from maintaining ecosystem functions and restoring degraded ecosystems to strengthening biodiversity conservation. It is a necessary step towards delivering on global commitments to protect and restore nature,” explains Oscar Betanzo, Fungi Foundation’s International Policy Lead.Â
About the Fungi Foundation
For 15 years, the Fungi Foundation has worked to advance the recognition of fungi in conservation, science, education and public policies. Through international advocacy, scientific collaborations and initiatives such as the Fauna, Flora, Funga Proposal and the Fungal Conservation Pledge, launched in 2024 alongside Chile and the United Kingdom, the Foundation has helped build a growing global movement to include fungi in environmental legislation and international agreements. It also focuses on including fungi into into education, as well as safeguarding human-fungi ancestral relationships, as well as documenting the world’s fungal diversity.Â
Its work at the Convention on Biological Diversity is part of this long-term effort to ensure that fungi are recognised and protected as an essential component of life on Earth. www.ffungi.org
