Cali, November 2, 2024 - With resounding success and unprecedented impact, COP16 came to an end in Cali, leaving a legacy for the country and the international community on the care and conservation of nature. Thanks to Colombia's leadership as host, COP16 achieved important advances in terms of negotiation and mobilization, consolidating itself as an event that brought together more than one million visitors and raised the profile of biodiversity in the global environmental debate.
COP16 consolidated biodiversity as a central axis in the global agenda, placing it at the same level of importance as climate change and decarbonization. The participation of heads of state and more than 170 official delegations is an example of the positioning achieved and the political relevance that this issue has acquired in the international arena.
"COP16 has been a transformative event, marking a milestone in the education and mobilization of Colombian society. Seeing so many people, from all regions of the country, excited and committed to biodiversity, demonstrates the impact of this summit. Colombia reaffirms its commitment to continue leading the environmental agenda and to build a true Peace with Nature," said COP16 President Susana Muhammad.
The Cali Fund was created, which will begin to collect economic resources derived from the use of digital sequence information of genetic resources by pharmaceutical, agricultural and biotechnology industries.
Historic achievements in negotiation
Cali Fund: The Cali Fund was established as a global mechanism to collect economic resources from the use of digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources for subsequent fair and equitable sharing.
"The historic Cali Fund was achieved to collect contributions from private enterprise on the use of genetic resources when they are in digital databases. This is also an innovative and very important mechanism," said Muhamad.
This is a landmark decision on an emerging issue of global importance and an agreement that creates a new precedent for benefit sharing in biodiversity conservation.
The fund will channel funding, consolidate contributions from DSI users and facilitate transparent distribution to stakeholders worldwide.
A permanent body for indigenous peoples and local communities was created, and the role of Afro-descendants as custodians of biodiversity was recognized
This new fund addresses how the benefits derived from the use of genetic data, particularly in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agricultural sectors, should be shared with the countries, indigenous communities and stakeholders that provide these resources.
Permanent Subsidiary Body: It was agreed to create this body that will strengthen the work between countries, indigenous peoples and local communities of the world in defining criteria, actions and programs associated with knowledge, innovations and practices associated with biodiversity.
Recognition of Afro-descendant communities: With the recognition of the role of Afro-descendants in the Convention, these communities are ratified as fundamental actors in the care and protection of biodiversity. This will also give them access to receive resources to finance their initiatives focused on the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity, and to participate in global environmental discussions, such as the next Conference of the Parties (COP).
Muhamad also explained that there were two pending issues to be approved in plenary: the financial strategy and the monitoring framework. "This leaves some challenges for the Convention and it is time to start addressing them, but the discussion there was always very polarized and continued to be so," he said.
Colombia mobilized the world with the Peace with Nature coalition, consolidated the People's COP and generated the largest environmental education and protection campaign in Colombia's history.
Colombia achieved its main objectives at COP16
According to Muhamad, Colombia as host achieved the objectives it set out to achieve. The first was that this was the COP of the People, with one million visits to the green zone and more than 40,000 people involved in academic activities and discussions.
Second, biodiversity raised its profile in the face of decarbonization and climate change. "It raised the political profile including the visit of heads of state, foreign ministers, ministers who were here and international delegations that reached more than 170 official delegations," he said.
However, Muhamad emphasized that a great movement was generated: "The Global Coalition for Peace with Nature became a social slogan and that for us is invaluable because it is from there that change is made".
A historic campaign of environmental education and social mobilization
COP16 not only marked advances in international agreements, but also mobilized thousands of people in Colombia, promoting the care and value of our natural wealth. This conference was consolidated as one of the largest pro-life and pro-nature movements in the history of the country.
This COP will be remembered as the COP of the People, a COP that brought Peace with Nature to the center of society and an incalculable achievement for Colombia in the environmental and educational fields.