The role of cities in taking action for nature has never been more widely recognised or important. For the planet to prosper, cities and regions need to thrive, and without a nature-positive trajectory, this is not possible. This is what makes the 9th Summit for Subnational Governments and Cities such a critical platform for strengthening subnational government collaboration, scaling implementation, leveraging finance, and accelerating multilevel action for nature.

Over the past two decades, ICLEI, through its Cities Biodiversity Center (CBC), has collaborated closely with the United Nations Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Biodiversity COP host countries and cities, and its key partners, such as Regions4 and UNEP, to elevate the voice of local and subnational governments at the Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP), ensuring that strong action is taken to create vibrant cities and regions, where people and biodiversity thrive.

This collaboration has not only resulted in global summits for the local and subnational government constituency, as official parallel events at the COPs, but also a seat and voice in the negotiations. This has led to the adoption of more than 20 Decisions recognizing cities and regions contributions to the CBD and global biodiversity targets, including a dedicated Decision providing for a multilevel governance mechanism and plan of action on engaging subnational governments and cities.

This 9th Summit will take place on 24 October 2026, in Yerevan, Armenia, building on this legacy of leadership, collaboration and policy impact, and continuing to strengthen the role of cities and regions at the forefront of global biodiversity action. 

It will be co-hosted by ICLEI, the Secretariat of the CBD and Regions4, along with the host Government of Armenia and the City of Yerevan. Additional partners include UNEP, the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, CitiesWithNature and RegionsWithNature.