The sixteenth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) has come to an end. The main agreement reached was the formal recognition of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples as vital agents for the conservation of biodiversity. In contrast, financing to preserve ecological diversity remained the great pending issue. Specialists accuse that it is necessary to implement urgent and forceful actions to ensure the survival of the planet’s natural heritage.
COP16 was held in the Colombian city of Cali. He received 170 delegations from all over the world. After 12 days of debate, the creation of a new subsidiary entity to enforce the rights of indigenous communities in environmental conservation was approved. The organization is covered by the Convention on Biological Diversity, the international instrument for “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic data.” , according to the United Nations (UN).
The Convention was adopted by 196 countries in 1992. Its objective is to promote policies that lead to a sustainable future. It subscribes that each signatory nation undertakes to respect, preserve and maintain the practices of rural populations “that entail traditional lifestyles relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of natural assets.” It establishes that the broad application of this knowledge should be encouraged to guarantee that the profits derived from its implementation are distributed fairly and impartially.
The new organization has been established to formalize a permanent space that facilitates the effective participation of native tribes in making decisions and defining actions that contribute to the protection of nature. Camila Paz Romero, spokesperson for indigenous peoples, states that “this subsidiary body is a reference for the rest of the world in which the parties recognize the continued need for our full and effective participation. “It is an unprecedented occasion in the history of multilateral environmental agreements.”
Financing, the pending task left by COP16
The COP16 participants also gave full recognition to Afro-descendant communities as fundamental actors for the care and protection of biodiversity. This grants them access to resources to finance projects that help safeguard the globe’s natural wealth. They will also be able to participate in international environmental debates and conferences.
The delegates ultimately supported the creation of the so-called ‘Cali Background’. This is a mechanism to raise capital from the use of digitized genetic sequence information. Companies that use this data for the development of their products must allocate part of the profits to a financing pool. The proceeds will be used to subsidize the activities of the indigenous communities directly or through some governments to guarantee their fair and equitable distribution.
COP16 was called to be the summit of the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This is an agreement agreed upon in Canada two years ago that aims to guarantee the protection of at least 30% of ecosystems in 2030. It was planned that a financing model would be defined during the event to meet these objectives. The UN estimates that the project requires at least $700 billion. The discussions in this regard were suspended on the last day of the Summit due to the lack of attendees. Susana Muhamad, Minister of the Environment of Colombia and president of the Conference, recognized that “this leaves some challenges for the convention and it is necessary to begin to correct them.”
A report by the United Nations Environment Program estimated that the financing gap for climate change adaptation is between $194 billion and $366 billion annually. The lack of agreements on this matter at COP16 aggravates the concerns that the situation generates. “Despite Colombia’s determined efforts and the tireless work of many negotiators to build consensus and build bridges between countries, this result jeopardizes the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. No one should be happy with this since it affects us all. Fulfilling the mission to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030 was never going to be easy, but now we are dangerously off course,” says Kirsten Schuijt, director general of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
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