COP 16: Convention on Biological Diversity was held in Cali, Colombia from October 21st to November 1st. This is a meeting between UN members to assess the state of biodiversity and create policies for all members to follow and reach appropriate goals. At COP 15 in 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was agreed upon and this COP 16 acted as a way to measure progress towards achieving the goals outlined in that framework for up until 2030. Here are the highlights of the conference!
What are the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework for 2030?
1. Reducing threats to biodiversity
- By 2030, 30% of degraded terrestrial and marine ecosystems will be under restoration
- By 2030, 30% of of terrestrial and marine ecosystems will be conserved
- Maintain genetic diversity through in situ and ex situ strategies
- Reduce the rate of introduction of invasive species by 50%
- Reduce negative impacts of pollution to levels that are not harmful to ecosystem services and function
2. Meeting people’s needs through sustainable use and benefit-sharing
- Manage the use of wild species and agriculture sustainably
- Increase the connectivity of green and blue urban spaces
- Ensure fair and equitable sharing of genetic resources
3. Tools and solutions for implementation and mainstreaming
- Imbue the value of biodiversity into all policy and business
- Reduce harmful subsidies by $500 billion every year after 2030
- Increase Global Environmental Facility fund by $20 billion every year
- Increase innovation, technological, and data resource corporation
- Ensure equitable implementation for women, indigenous groups, youth, and people with disabilities
Were these goals met during their assessment at COP16?
1. Reducing threats to biodiversity
- Only 44 out of 196 members pledge new national biodiversity strategies and action plans
- Agreed on a new process to identify ecologically or biologically significant marine areas which allows for new ways to include scientific input on how to identify these areas
- Put through a text on invasive species with suggestions to make data on invasive species more public, strengthen guidelines for controlling invasive species, and to acknowledge the linked between invasive species and biodiversity loss
2. Meeting people’s needs through sustainable use and benefit-sharing
- Most genetic sequencing information used to create pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and other products is still housed in the global north, but now certain qualifying companies should be contributing 1% of profiting the Digital Sequence Information fund
- Establishment of the a new Global Action Plan on Biodiversity and Health which recognizes links between habitat fragmentation and disease spreading, anthropogenic climate change and disease spreading, pollution and poor health, and more
3. Tools and solutions for implementation and mainstreaming
- Currently, $396 million of the expected $20 billion was contributed by developed countries to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund under the Global Environmental Facility which led to some countries suggesting a new fund that was not passed
- Due to many countries’ representative needing to leave the conference early, the decisions for funding did not reach the needed amount of parties present and will need to be re-discussed at the intersessional conferences
- Due to the DRC requesting the resource mobilization be put on the forefront of discussion over monitoring framework, a decision on a monitoring framework was not made
- Current campaign and mainstreaming champions group of 17 members are pushing for biodiversity to be considered in all applicable policies from agriculture to urban planning
- Agreement to work towards an action plan that will better share biotechnologies
- For the first time, indigenous groups have gained formal and permanent recognition at COP without having to rely on their home countries
Conclusion
- Huge breakthroughs for Indigenous groups gaining recognition and possible contributions to Digital Sequence Information fund
- Key discussions required to delegate fund contributions and monitoring frameworks need to be held at a later date