The “Balkan Nature Talks Conference” was hosted in Vienna for the countries of the Western Balkans, in the lead up to COP16. The aim of the event was to bring together a range of stakeholders, including policymakers, CBD and GEF Focal Points, donors, and the offices of UN Resident Coordinators, to exchange knowledge and foster collaboration on biodiversity conservation actions in the Western Balkans, as well as to explore progress towards NBSAPs’ alignment with the GBF. Over the course of the Conference, UNEP aimed to facilitate and foster discussions on current and innovative strategies, possibilities, policies and practices that promote biodiversity conservation; confer trends and ongoing needs in the Western Balkans on biodiversity conservation; and present the linkages between health and biodiversity.