The UN chief and government officials called for accelerated global action to protect biodiversity at a summit in Yerevan on Friday, urging countries to turn international commitments into concrete measures and strengthen cooperation to address biodiversity loss.

The Leaders' Summit on Biodiversity, themed "Leaders for Nature," brought together heads of state and government and representatives of international organizations ahead of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), scheduled for October 19 to 30.

Representatives of governments, non-governmental organizations, experts and other stakeholders also attended the summit.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged countries to show "more action, more speed, and more will" to protect biodiversity.

"Halfway to 2030, Yerevan is our moment of accountability," Guterres said at the summit, calling for an assessment of progress toward global conservation targets laid out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022.

He warned that progress in halting biodiversity loss remained uneven and too slow, with financing and other support still falling short of what was needed.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan highlighted the links between peace and biodiversity conservation.

"Peace and biodiversity are of great significance, both domestically and across borders," Pashinyan said during a roundtable discussion held as part of the summit. He stressed that environmental challenges could not be addressed by any country alone, calling for greater international cooperation.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also noted the importance of biodiversity conservation in the context of peace, security and sustainable development. He highlighted the environmental damage caused by armed conflicts and called for stronger international support for conservation efforts.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for broad international cooperation to safeguard the world's natural heritage, stressing that "biodiversity sustains human well-being, economic resilience and long-term security."

Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu said China had consistently participated in global biodiversity governance with strong political commitment and concrete action, helping promote the adoption of the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Huang called for greater financial, technological and capacity-building support for developing countries to ensure the framework's comprehensive, balanced and effective implementation.

The summit adopted the Yerevan Declaration, entitled "Taking Action for Nature," which reaffirmed commitments to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the effective implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The framework aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and achieve its vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050.