COP16 Comes to an end recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Role
Efforts by Brazil and Colombia lead to inclusion of Afro-Descendants in Article 8(J)
With the slogan "make peace with nature", the COP16 for biodiversity came to an end Saturday. The conference in Cali, Colombia, was supposed to end on Friday (01/11) but was extended into the next morning due to the final plenary. The ending was unusual. After ten hours of discussion, many delegates had flights back home and left one by one until there was no longer a quorum to vote on important issues related to financial mechanisms. Nevertheless, before the negotiations were suspended, several key measures were approved, such as establishing a permanent subsidiary body for Indigenous peoples and local communities, including Afro-descendants in Article 8(j), and creating a new benefit-sharing mechanism for genetic resources called the Cali Fund.
Also known as "the people's COP," the summit finally recognized those on the frontlines of conservation—but not without suspense and plot twists. At the beginning of the conference, issues related to Afro-descendants faced some resistance from African countries like the Republic of Congo. By Wednesday (30/11), establishing a permanent subsidiary body for Indigenous peoples and local communities seemed to be headed toward a happy conclusion, but some countries, such as Russia and Indonesia, expressed their opposition. Brazil and Colombia played an essential role in resolving both negotiations.
Another significant outcome was the creation of the Cali Fund, which addresses digital sequence information (DSI) issues. This multilateral financial mechanism will deliver 50% of its resources to Indigenous peoples and local communities. However, there were some disappointments, particularly around the vote on a new biodiversity fund to replace the Global Environment Facility. Moreover, only 44 out of 196 parties, or 22%, have submitted new National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). In South America, only Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, and French Guiana have submitted their NBSAPs.
Despite COP taking place in South America, local media coverage was limited. A few outlets, such as Valor Econômico in Brazil, El Observador from Colombia, and El PaÃs from Uruguay, paid more attention than others. Generally, however, there was far less coverage than we typically see for the COP focused on climate change, which will begin next week in Baku, Azerbaijan.
More from South America
Colombia - The minister of environment and sustainable development MarÃa Susana Muhamad González spoke to El Tiempo about the outcomes of COP16. She said the most important achievement was to put biodiversity in the same level of the climate crisis. Also, González told the summit had fundraised 100 millions dollars for biodiversity.
Argentina - The sub secretary of environment of Argentina said that calling the president Javier Milei a denialist is a mistake. Ana Vidal de Lamas defended the politician, arguing he believes global warming is not entirely caused by humans. Also, she said that his posture is just "disruptive". Anyway, Argentina submitted the NBSAP.
This story was produced as part of the 2024 CBD COP16 Virtual Fellowship organized by Internews' Earth Journalism Network.