UNEP-WCMC delegates at this year’s Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) take stock of the outcomes in Cali, Colombia and consider the key topics to be covered at COP16 part two next year.

Mainstream and social media reporting on the first part of the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP16) held in Cali, Colombia has been mixed. However, we should recognize its many successes and also consider those to come when it reconvenes. The 27 key decisions taken by governments in Cali covered issues from linking conservation and health agendas, joining up responses to the biodiversity crisis and climate change, and identifying important areas for biodiversity in the ocean, to advancing on technical and scientific cooperation to deliver on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, addressing invasive alien species, and managing risks from synthetic biology.

Amongst these many decisions taken so far, two are particularly significant. First, the decision to formally recognize and strengthen the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in the work of the Convention, including with a new permanent subsidiary body established. Second, an agreement on how to operationalize the mechanism to share benefits from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources (DSI). This agreement includes the establishment of a fund to transfer financial benefits to developing countries and IPLCs.

“The decisions from the first part of COP16, including on how to transfer benefits from the commercial use of DSI, on strengthening the role of IPLCs and on the myriad of technical issues to enable progress in the conservation and sustainable use of nature, are groundbreaking. Let’s celebrate these successes, and recognize that the multilateral system is delivering action for nature. We must now work together to provide momentum for further decisions on finance and transparency, to be taken at the second part of the COP, and then to deliver across the board so that these decisions make a difference to people and nature”

Neville Ash, Director, UNEP-WCMC

A new, permanent subsidiary body focused on the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities

Indigenous Peoples are key custodians of much of the world’s biodiversity. The Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) recognizes the unique role Indigenous Peoples and local communities play in the conservation and sustainable use of nature. Under Article 8j of the Convention, Parties have agreed to “respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities” and encourage equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of their knowledge, innovation and practices.

For more than two decades, Parties to the CBD have been working to improve collaboration with IPLCs in achieving objectives for biodiversity through an ad hoc working group providing advice to the Convention. However, a historic decision at COP16 has formalized this process by establishing a permanent subsidiary body focused on the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. This decision was met by a round of elated celebrations from IPLCs, governments, partners and stakeholders in the room, and will set the stage for a deeper and more engaged approach to recognizing the importance of IPLCs in the work of the Convention.

In addition to the subsidiary body, a new programme of work relating to Article 8j was also adopted, with clear priorities up to 2030 alongside a decision that recognizes the role that people of African descent play in conserving biodiversity through traditional lifestyles, especially in South America.

Parties agreed on how the mechanism to share benefits from the use of DSI will operate

Agreement at the previous COP on a mechanism for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of DSI was a major advancement. DSI is the digital information derived from the genetic code of living organisms and related information. This information is pivotal in a range of key research and commercial sectors, including pharmaceutical and healthcare, cosmetics, agricultural and industrial biotechnology, and increasing also information technology.

COP16 negotiations resulted in a groundbreaking decision on how the mechanism will work, including the operation of contributions to the ‘Cali fund’. Companies from sectors that benefit from the use of DSI for commercial activities will be incentivized to pay into the fund through national legislation, policies or other administrative measures. These contributions will be proportional to their revenue or profit, and funding will be re-invested into activities for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in developing countries. At least half of the fund’s contributions will be channelled to support the needs of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

What progress do we hope to see at COP16.2 next year?

The decisions from the first part of COP16 are historic and should be celebrated. The COP ran out of time to address the full set of issues on the agenda in Cali, and so will reconvene in February 2025 in Rome. Parties will resume unfinished discussions, including on mobilizing financial resources, and on strengthening transparency and implementation of the Convention and KM-GBF.

A plan for mobilizing resources

The KM-GBF set a target for developed countries to support developing countries with at least USD 20 billion a year by 2025 (and USD 30 billion by 2030) to fund national actions for biodiversity. This forms part of a wider agreement to mobilize USD 200 billion per year from all sources and address the USD 500 billion per year in harmful subsidies. A priority for COP16 part two will be to decide on the strategy for mobilizing these resources and determine the future international landscape for biodiversity finance.

Achieving this agreement will require both recognizing the important role of all sectors in mobilizing resources and delivering on international public finance commitments. Alongside these actions, all sectors must work to ensure alignment of mainstream financial flows with national and global ambitions for nature. Whilst the USD 20 and 200 billion figures are critical, nature also needs to be accounted for across the entire global economy that is worth USD 100 trillion a year.

Strengthening transparency

Transparency is critical to both understand and deliver progress towards international commitments. For decades, UNEP-WCMC has worked with a network of global, regional and national partners to support development, enhancement and implementation of national monitoring systems. COP16 part two will need to fill the gaps in the global monitoring framework to inform these national systems. Parties must also decide how action towards the framework’s four goals and 23 targets will be assessed through a global review of collective progress to be undertaken at the next UN Biodiversity Conference in 2026.

Over 40 Parties have already revised and updated their national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs), which detail how each Party intends to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, applying whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches. Other Parties are continuing with this process, ensuring buy-in from across government, and engaging diverse stakeholders. This process takes time, and it is time well spent to ensure support from all sectors that need to act to deliver progress at the national level.

COP16 has already achieved a lot in Cali, and further work is required to conclude its business in 2025. Gaining consensus from 196 governments is not always easy, but these multilateral processes are key to delivering global ambitions and setting the international agenda for action. We should celebrate the successes to date and continue to work hard to support further progress when the COP reconvenes in February. The most important ambition must be to ensure that the international community's commitments and decisions are delivered where it really matters – at local, national and regional scales to make a difference to the lives of people and the state of nature.

Main image: UNEP-WCMC Director Neville Ash speaking at the launch of the Protected Planet Report 2024, produced by UNEP-WCMC in collaboration with IUCN, at COP16 in Cali, Colombia (Image courtesy of UNEP)