In a pivotal moment for the future of our planet, representatives from around the world gathered in Cali, Colombia for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s Cop16 summit. The goal? To hash out a plan to halt and reverse the alarming destruction of the natural world. But as the two-week meeting drew to a chaotic close on Saturday morning, the results were decidedly mixed.
Indigenous Rights and Genetic Profits: Key Victories
Amidst the confusion and unresolved issues, Cop16 did manage to secure some significant breakthroughs. In a landmark move, indigenous peoples and local communities were granted a permanent role in the UN biodiversity decision-making process. Jennifer Corpuz of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity hailed it as a “watershed moment.”
Another major development was an agreement to establish a global levy on profits derived from products that utilize genetic data from nature, known as digital sequence information (DSI). Companies meeting certain revenue thresholds will be required to contribute a portion of their profits or revenue to a DSI fund, potentially generating over $1 billion annually for conservation. At least half of these funds will flow directly to indigenous communities.
It’s a significant step forward. But I can’t help feeling we have missed a major opportunity to rally around a far more ambitious approach, which could mobilise resources at the scale urgently required.
– Pierre du Plessis, DSI expert and former negotiator from Namibia
Funding Woes and Monitoring Gaps
Despite these victories, observers noted that overall, Cop16 fell far short of delivering the ambitious action needed to tackle the biodiversity crisis. Crucial issues like a strategy to raise $200 billion per year for conservation and a plan to monitor progress on biodiversity targets were left unresolved as the summit devolved into disarray.
Developing nations expressed outrage at the lack of commitment from wealthy countries to meet the $20 billion annual funding target by 2025, a deadline that is rapidly approaching. According to sources close to the negotiations, the summit concluded without a clear finance strategy, leaving conservation efforts in limbo.
This Cop has neither delivered additional funding nor given us confidence that governments will work together to deliver it in a transparent and urgent manner. Governments have shown time and time again that they can materialize the funds needed when they want – be that for pandemics or wars. Why then can they not materialize it to fight the greatest existential threat we face?
– Jiwoh Abdulai, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Sierra Leone
The failure to agree on a monitoring framework for the ambitious targets set at 2022’s Cop15 summit in Montreal was another major setback. Without a clear system to track progress, the lofty goals risk becoming empty promises, much like the previous decade’s unmet conservation targets.
A Biodiversity Crossroads
As Cop16 ended in uncertainty, it became clear that the world stands at a critical juncture for the future of nature. The piecemeal progress and lack of urgency displayed by many governments and UN officials stood in stark contrast to the scale and severity of the biodiversity crisis threatening our planet.
- Global wildlife populations have plummeted by an average of 69% since 1970
- 1 million species are at risk of extinction
- Ecosystem services worth trillions of dollars are in jeopardy
With so much at stake, environmentalists are sounding the alarm that business as usual is no longer an option. The world must come together with renewed determination and commitment to translate the hard-won biodiversity targets into tangible action before it’s too late.
The pace of Cop16 negotiations did not reflect the urgency of the crisis we are facing. Two years on, the vast majority of nature targets agreed in Montreal regrettably currently still feel like unfunded words on paper.
– Catherine Weller, Director of Global Policy at Fauna & Flora
As the dust settles on Cop16, all eyes now turn to the interim meeting in Bangkok next year, where countries will have another chance to step up and deliver the transformative changes our planet so desperately needs. The fate of the natural world hangs in the balance, and time is running out.
Developing nations expressed outrage at the lack of commitment from wealthy countries to meet the $20 billion annual funding target by 2025, a deadline that is rapidly approaching. According to sources close to the negotiations, the summit concluded without a clear finance strategy, leaving conservation efforts in limbo.
This Cop has neither delivered additional funding nor given us confidence that governments will work together to deliver it in a transparent and urgent manner. Governments have shown time and time again that they can materialize the funds needed when they want – be that for pandemics or wars. Why then can they not materialize it to fight the greatest existential threat we face?
– Jiwoh Abdulai, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Sierra Leone
The failure to agree on a monitoring framework for the ambitious targets set at 2022’s Cop15 summit in Montreal was another major setback. Without a clear system to track progress, the lofty goals risk becoming empty promises, much like the previous decade’s unmet conservation targets.
A Biodiversity Crossroads
As Cop16 ended in uncertainty, it became clear that the world stands at a critical juncture for the future of nature. The piecemeal progress and lack of urgency displayed by many governments and UN officials stood in stark contrast to the scale and severity of the biodiversity crisis threatening our planet.
- Global wildlife populations have plummeted by an average of 69% since 1970
- 1 million species are at risk of extinction
- Ecosystem services worth trillions of dollars are in jeopardy
With so much at stake, environmentalists are sounding the alarm that business as usual is no longer an option. The world must come together with renewed determination and commitment to translate the hard-won biodiversity targets into tangible action before it’s too late.
The pace of Cop16 negotiations did not reflect the urgency of the crisis we are facing. Two years on, the vast majority of nature targets agreed in Montreal regrettably currently still feel like unfunded words on paper.
– Catherine Weller, Director of Global Policy at Fauna & Flora
As the dust settles on Cop16, all eyes now turn to the interim meeting in Bangkok next year, where countries will have another chance to step up and deliver the transformative changes our planet so desperately needs. The fate of the natural world hangs in the balance, and time is running out.
