This COP16 must be the time to drive action, drive solutions and raise the political ambition needed to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.
The advancement of the goals 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 that are being addressing at COP16.
The advance of the goals set for more than 190 countries maintaining balance with nature, funding sources, monitoring mechanisms and the follow-up of plans to protect biological diversity worldwide are some of the points that are being addressed in the COP16.
The future of the planet, its rivers, forests, oceans and species, and everything that the existence of these ecosystems allows humanity to have, from access to water and food, climate conditions, the development of medicine, inter aliapass right now by the Pacific Events Centerthe place where discussions of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) in Cali, Colombia.
While millions of people work, study, subsist or move from one place to another, immersed in the rigor of routine, representatives from more than 190 countries define the actions with which they seek to protect what, in essence, allows humans continue living: balance with nature.
The United Nations Conference on Biological Diversityconsidered the most important event in the world for conserve biodiversityis carried out every two years to agree on commitments that allow safeguard 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.
Its main objective is to protect 30% of the planetincluding terrestrial, marine and freshwater areas, transforming them into protected areas by the end of this decade. Additionally, the framework highlights 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 5 keys to understanding the importance of the discussions taking place at the world summit of biodiversity.
1.- Progress and strategies of the countries
A first key point is the review that will be made of the goals proposed by the countries to comply with the global biodiversity framework, which was agreed upon two years ago, as well as the countries’ plans and strategies.
“Until now, less 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 if, effectively, with those goals that each country proposes, the objective of stopping the loss of biodiversity and complying with what was proposed in regarding 23 objectives at COP15,” explains Bello.
2.- Financing to act: 700,000 million dollars
The second element is a central axis of the negotiation: having a financing model for the implementation of the global biodiversity framework, what will be the sources of resources, how will it be executed, who or who will manage them and what will they be? the mechanisms for accessing that financing, among others.
“Currently, what is required in financing are 700 billion dollarsof which 200,000 million dollars a year would be needed, and about 500,000 million dollars would come from the transformation of subsidies that are currently harmful to biodiversity, in economic sectors such as food or the energy sector,” adds the UNEP representative. .
3.- Monitoring progress
Another topic that is under discussion is How the progress of the countries in fulfilling the plan will be measuredwhat will be the monitoring, evaluation and follow-up framework to verify that, in fact, what the countries propose is fulfilled.
“This implies that countries agree on indicators, ways of measuring, verifying, and It’s quite complex”, recognizes the United Nations expert.
4.- Benefits of genetic resources
The agreement also includes commitments on the sustainable use of natural resources and ensuring that benefits derived from genetic resources are distributed fairly and equitably, particularly to the communities that care for them.
Genetic resources refer to all biological material belonging to living beings.which contains genetic information of actual or potential value. Currently, there are thousands of databases, public and private, that collect and systematize this information associated with species. Such data is known as Information Digital Genetic Sequences.
The fourth issue is to agree on a global mechanism for accessing 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 be able 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 exactly how to generate that work plan, the benefits frameworks, how to ensure that indigenous peoples can have full recognition and the conditions so that their contributions to the conservation of biodiversity are duly recognized. Also being discussed, in this context, is the recognition of Afro-descendant peoples who contribute to the conservation and restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity,” says the representative.
The UN expert explains that concrete progress is expected from each of these points.
“This is what they call political results because, ultimately, it is a summit that seeks negotiation. If progress is made on all issues it would be very successful. Something very important that may possibly come out of this summit is that it is recognized that actions to restore ecosystems are fundamental to addressing the climate crisis, that is, being able make a direct, clear and unambiguous connection between biodiversity and climate change”Bello points out.
In this way, the summit in Cali would be consolidated as one more step towards the challenges that will be addressed by 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 for advances in economic development models not to come at the expense of the environment.
In other words, that the material well-being achieved by human beings does not generate, on the other hand, the destruction of nature. The summit has had broad participation from civil society and representatives of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. To date, 23,000 people have registered for the event.
The ‘United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity’ joins two other key agreements that were agreed in 1992
The United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity joins two other key agreements that were agreed in 1992, during the 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 on environmental issues, which brings together 196 countries and the European Union. It establishes a global framework to address climate change with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting global warming.
He Paris Agreementagreed at COP21 in 2015, set a commitment to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius, with efforts to keep it below 1.5 degrees.
The other agreement is United Nations Convention to Combat Desertificationadopted in 1994, which addresses the prevention of desertification and land degradation, with the aim of promoting sustainable management of land resources 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 of this year.
Each summit has different procedures and agendas, but They share environmental protection as a common goal. to confront the triple planetary crisis: climate change, the loss of biodiversity and pollution.