This COP16 must be the moment to take action, Providing solutions and increasing the political ambition needed to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.
The promotion of the objectives set by more than 190 countries to maintain balance with nature, the sources of financing, the monitoring mechanisms and the follow-up of plans to protect biological diversity worldwide are some of the points addressed in the COP16 will be discussed..
The rise of the goals set for more than 190 countries maintaining balance with nature, sources of financing, monitoring mechanisms and the follow-up of plans to protect biological diversity worldwide are some of the points addressed in the COP16.
The future of the planet, its rivers, forests, oceans and species, and everything that the existence of these ecosystems makes possible for humanity, from access to water and food, climatic conditions, the development of medicines, among othersnow go along the Pacific Event Centerthe place where discussions about the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) in Cali, Colombia.
While millions of people work, study, survive or move from one place to another, immersed in the rigors of routine, representatives of more than 190 countries define the actions with which they try to protect what essentially allows people to continue living: balance with nature.
The United Nations Conference on Biological Diversityconsidered the most important event in the world conservation of biodiversityis carried out every two years to agree on commitments that make this possible protect the environment.
The summit has as its roadmap the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biodiversitya global plan, adopted during the COP15 in Canadato halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
The main goal is to protect 30% of the planetincluding terrestrial, marine and freshwater areas, and will convert them into protected areas by the end of this decade. In addition, the framework emphasizes the restoration and protection of critical ecosystems, such as rainforests and wetlands.
With the help of Juan Bello, Regional Director and Representative of the United Nations Environment Program in Latin America and the Caribbean, UN News explains the five keys to understanding the importance of the discussions taking place at the World Summit on Biodiversity.
1.- Progress and strategies of the countries
A first important point is the assessment that will be made of the objectives proposed by the countries to comply with the global biodiversity framework, agreed two years ago, as well as of the countries’ plans and strategies.
“Until now, fewer than 35 countries have presented their plans. But a central axis of this summit is to review the implementation goals of the global framework to see whether, with the goals proposed by each country, the goal of halting biodiversity loss and meeting what was proposed with regard to the 23 objectives at COP15,” Bello explains.
2.- Funding to take action: $700,000 million
The second element is a central axis of the negotiations: having a financing model for the implementation of the global biodiversity framework, what will be the sources of the resources, how will they be implemented, who or who will manage them and what will they be ? including the mechanisms for accessing that financing.
“Currently what is needed is in terms of financing 700 billion dollarsof which $200,000 million per year would be needed, and around $500,000 million would come from the transformation of subsidies that currently harm biodiversity, in economic sectors such as the food or energy sectors,” the UNEP representative added.
3.- Monitoring progress
Another topic up for discussion is How countries’ progress in implementing the plan will be measuredwhat the monitoring, evaluation and follow-up framework will be to verify that what the countries propose is in fact met.
“This means that countries agree on indicators, ways to measure, verify and measure It’s quite complex”, acknowledges the United Nations expert.
4.- Advantages of genetic resources
The agreement also includes commitments on the sustainable use of natural resources and ensuring that benefits from genetic resources are shared fairly and equitably, especially among the communities that care for them.
Genetic resources refer to all biological material belonging to living things.that contains genetic information of actual or potential value. Currently, there are thousands of databases, public and private, that collect and systematize this information about species. Such data is known as information Digital genetic sequences.
The fourth issue is to agree on a global mechanism to access the benefits of using digital sequence information.
“It is the information that comes from the genetic analyzes of the species. It is expected that those who use this information for industrial purposes, for example in the pharmaceutical industry, in the food cosmetics industry, can pay because it is an industrial and commercial use. The idea is that this use generates a payment that can benefit the countries and communities where that biodiversity comes from.. That is a very complex issue, but it is absolutely central to this COP,” Bello emphasizes.
5.- Indigenous peoples
Finally, another important point is to agree on a work plan for the implementation of Article J8 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, an international treaty of the United Nations adopted in 1992, which recognizes the importance of the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. .
“There is a very broad discussion there about how exactly to generate that work plan, the benefits frameworks, how to ensure that indigenous peoples can receive full recognition and the conditions so that their contributions to biodiversity conservation are properly recognised. In this context, the recognition of Afro-descendant peoples who contribute to the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity is also discussed,” the representative said.
The UN expert explains that concrete progress is expected on each of these points.
“They call these political results, because ultimately it is a summit that aims for negotiation. If progress is made on all counts, this would be very successful. Something very important that could potentially emerge from this summit is the recognition that actions to restore ecosystems are fundamental to tackling the climate crisis, i.e. establish a direct, clear and unambiguous link between biodiversity and climate change” notes Bello.
In this way, the Cali summit would be consolidated as a new step towards the challenges that will be addressed at next year’s Climate Change Summit, which will be held in another place in Latin America: Belém do Pará, in Brazil .
The COP16 In Cali it is fulfilled under the motto “Peace with nature”, a call not to let progress in economic development models come at the expense of the environment.
In other words, that the material well-being achieved by humans, on the other hand, does not cause the destruction of nature. The summit had broad participation from civil society and representatives of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. So far, 23,000 people have registered for the event.
The ‘United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity’ joins two other major agreements agreed in 1992
The United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity joins two other major agreements agreed in 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiroto coordinate international efforts and address global environmental problems.
One of them is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changethe best known in the field of environmental issues, bringing together 196 countries and the European Union. It creates a global framework to tackle climate change with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting global warming.
He Paris Agreementagreed at COP21 in 2015, committed to limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius, with efforts to keep it below 1.5 degrees.
The other similarity is United Nations Convention to Combat Desertificationadopted in 1994, which focuses on preventing desertification and land degradation, with the aim of promoting sustainable land resource management and improving the resilience of areas affected by drought.
The COP29 on Climate Change will be held in Baku (Azerbaijan), from November 11 to 22, 2024 and COP30 in 2025 in Brazil. The COP16 on desertification will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 2 to 13 this year.
Each summit has different procedures and agendas, but… They share environmental protection as a common goal. to tackle the triple planetary crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.