UN Biodiversity Conference: Key Takeaways to Achieve “Making Peace with Nature”
The 16th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) took place from 21 October to 1 November 2024 in Cali, Colombia. This marked the first COP since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) during COP15 in 2022, aiming at halting and reversing biodiversity loss until 2030.
The theme of this year’s COP was “Making Peace with Nature” and as the CBD Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker put it “It has never been clearer that the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement in a synergistic fashion will make peace with nature within reach.”COP16 focused on evaluating progress in implementing the GBF and advancing negotiations on critical mechanisms including establishing a multilateral mechanism for benefit-sharing from the use of digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources and mobilising resources to bridge the biodiversity finance gap.
National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) serve as the primary tool for implementing the CBD at the national level and are essential for monitoring and reviewing progress on the CBD and the GBF. Therefore, Decision CBD 15/6 calls on parties to align their NBSAPs with GBF goals and targets. Parties were requested to submit updated NBSAPs by COP16, or, if unable to do so, to communicate national targets aligned with the GBF. At COP16, 44 parties submitted their updated NBSAPs, while 119 parties communicated their national targets. The conference urged parties that have not yet updated their NBSAPs to do so as soon as possible.
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) play a critical role in biodiversity conservation as they are the stewards of many important ecosystems worldwide. The conference hence adopted a programme of work to implement Article 8(j) of the CBD, which emphasises the respect, preservation, and equitable sharing of knowledge from IPLCs. A Subsidiary Body on Article 8(j) (SB8J) was established as a permanent advisory body, replacing the long-standing Working Group on Article 8(j). The SB8J will provide guidance to the COP and related protocols, focusing on IPLC-related matters.
Another major outcome was the adoption of modalities to operationalise the Cali Fund, a global mechanism for fair and equitable benefit-sharing from the use of DSI. Users of DSI in commercial sectors should contribute 1% of profits or 0.1% of revenue, depending on their size. While the fund remains voluntary, it marks a milestone for ensuring benefits flow to communities, including Indigenous Peoples, in regions where resources originate. This initiative responds to calls from developing nations and Indigenous groups for an international mechanism for equitable benefit-sharing linked to genetic resources.
On the climate-biodiversity nexus, COP16 adopted a decision urging closer collaboration among the CBD, UNFCCC, and UNCCD, including exploring joint initiatives. Delegates recognised the importance of aligning efforts to address interconnected global challenges.
Despite achievements, several issues remain unresolved, including a resource mobilisation strategy to secure $200 billion annually by 2030, creating a global biodiversity financing instrument, finalising the monitoring framework agreed at COP15 and mechanisms for planning, monitoring, reporting, and review.
The Vietnamese delegation, led by Dr. Nguyen Van Tai and Dr. Hoang Thi Thanh Nhan from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), and Dr. Le Tran Nguyen Hung from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), actively participated. Vietnam submitted its NBSAP on 21 October 2024.
On 21 November the IKI Interface Project organised a thematic exchange on the results of COP16 aimed at briefing IKI implementers and relevant stakeholders on summarised outcomes of the CBD COP16 and discussing possible follow-up activities and synergies. 34 participants from IKI projects, government agencies, national and international NGOs and development partners attended the meeting.
At the meeting, outcomes of selected COP16 agenda items were presented and followed by observations of the COP16 negotiations provided by Vietnamese delegates to COP16 from MONRE’s Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Agency and MARD’s Fishery Surveillance Department as well as by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV).