Follow our full coverage of the Biodiversity COP16 on ThinkLandscape.
Additional reporting by Eirini Sakellari
From 21 October to 1 November, world leaders are gathered in Cali, Colombia, for the 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) – the biggest biodiversity event of the year.
This blog will be updated daily. Read our preview article for an overview of what to expect.
Main highlights:
Today was the first day of official proceedings at the Biodiversity COP16, kicking off with cultural performances followed by opening and regional statements.
Susana Muhamad, COP16 president and Colombia’s minister of environment and sustainable development, emphasized the importance of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) as a milestone in biodiversity conservation but warned that the job is not yet done.
“Kunming–Montreal was a very intense and successful negotiation. The level of commitment in implementing the Kunming–Montreal agreement is not to be diminished,” Muhamad said in her opening speech.
“This is not your standard environmental policy. This is not just national plans that will set targets. This requires a deep involvement of whole of government and whole of society.”
Astrid Schomaker, executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), has confirmed that this is the largest UN Biodiversity Conference to date, suggesting the growing importance of the biodiversity crisis on the international agenda.
The Secretariat also reported yesterday that 108 parties have submitted national targets, while 35 have submitted updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).
The various regional statements covered the expected topics of digital sequence information (DSI), the central role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the need for synergies among the Rio Conventions, and – more than anything else – biodiversity funding.
Some regions also mentioned the need to advance work on marine and coastal biodiversity, with the Maldives, representing the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), urging parties to resolve outstanding issues around this and recognize the unique position of SIDS.
Speaking for the African Group, Senegal emphasized the fact that 41 African parties have submitted national targets, reflecting their commitment to implementing the GBF.
“We believe in Africa that it is absolutely vital to change the current paradigms in order to further strengthen our efforts in protecting biodiversity,” the Senegalese representative said.
Multiple speakers also noted the need for a solid program on Article 8(j), including the International Indigenous Forum On Biodiversity (IIFB), which called for a dedicated subsidiary body.
Article 8(j) of the CDB will be a recurring point of discussion over the next two weeks. It states that:
Each contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate:
Subject to national legislation, respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of the holders of such knowledge, innovations and practices and encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of such knowledge innovations and practices.
Following the plenary, working groups met to review draft decisions and establish contact groups, including four that met in the evening to address draft decisions on Article 8(j), DSI, biodiversity and health, and biodiversity mainstreaming.
Notably, in working group I, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) stated on behalf of the African Group that they would not accept any revision of terminology related to Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
More specifically, the DRC raised concerns about submission by Colombia and Brazil on the inclusion of Afro-descendants in the implementation of the CBD.
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