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As announced on May 22 by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, as organizer and host of the COP16the most important biodiversity summit in the world, Colombia has an unprecedented opportunity to ratify its international prominence as a leader in climate action and nature protection.
Given this scenario, the Minister of the Environment, Susana Muhamad, anticipated the four main bets that Colombia will put on the table.
He did it within the framework of International Day of Biological Biodiversitywhich for this year has as its theme the motto Be part of the plan, with which seeks to urge governments, indigenous peoples, local communities, non-governmental organizations, legislators, companies and citizens to actively collaborate in the implementation of the Biodiversity Plan, sharing their contributions and committing to the cause. “We all have a vital role to play and can contribute significantly to the success of the plan,” explained the United Nations.
Thus, this date marks the beginning of preparation for the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), which will be held in Cali from October 21 to November 1, 2024.
The Government’s bets for said meeting are:
1. Approval of the global work plan for ethnic peoples as custodians of biodiversity
Colombia will work to adopt Article 8J of the Kunming-Montreal Framework, which recognizes the important roles and contributions of these peoples and communities as custodians of biological diversity and partners in its restoration, conservation and sustainable use.
“80% of biodiversity is in the hands of indigenous peoples and local communities in the world. For this reason, we want to strongly support her voice and her role, from the Presidency of Colombia,” said Minister Muhamad.
2. Contribute to the financing of the fulfillment of the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework
Colombia will seek to bring the results, together with Germany, France and Kenya, of the panel of experts that was launched in Dubai around debt, climate and nature, to begin to open the perspectives of financing processes.
“With the good news of the biodiversity fund, which is now operational, we are on track to meet the financing goal by 2025. We believe that we need a new form of financial relationship, a new international financial pact to take on the triple planetary crisis: biodiversity , climate and pollution,” said the minister.
3. Evaluation of countries’ actions to meet the 23 biodiversity goals for 2030
For the minister, it is essential to monitor the commitments that each country made in the Kunming – Montreal World Framework, the historic agreement reached at the end of COP15, in 2022. “In Cali, the countries have to present their action plans and The Presidency, with the entire convention, is going to show how we are doing and if the countries are complying,” Muhamad assured.
4. Access to the benefits derived from genetic resources
As the future presidency of the CBD, we will do our best to establish a framework for access to benefits from digitized genetic chains and genetic resources. In that sense, the minister highlighted that: “in conversation with the network of megadiverse countries, it was identified that this is a debt of the Convention on Biological Diversity that must be settled with priority to advance within this fair framework.”
These four big bets will contribute to the fulfillment of the 23 global goals on biodiversity by 2030, among which is recovering and conserving 30% of degraded natural territories. The minister reaffirmed that this work will be the biodiversity legacy of the Government of Change for the country.
TO KNOW MORE
What is COP16 on Biodiversity?
The Conference of the Parties (COP) involves 196 countries around the world, linked to the Convention on Biological Diversity, an international treaty adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and which entered into force in 1993, with the purpose of conserving biological diversity, seeking sustainable use and guaranteeing the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of the genetic resources of the species.
The COP on biodiversity is the most important event in the world on this matter and will be the bridge to establish agendas, commitments and frameworks for action in relation to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as to address challenges such as the climate crisis. , the loss of natural habitats, the overexploitation of natural resources, among others. In 2024, Colombia will host this summit for the first time, for 12 days in the city of Cali, starting on October 21.
