The Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP16 in October and November this year will take place in Cali, capital of Colombia’s Pacific region, President Gustavo Petro has announced.
Cali was picked over the capital Bogota as host of the event, after around 10 cities initially signalled interest in hosting the event following the UN confirmation in December that COP16 would take place in Colombia.
“As a power of natural biodiversity and human diversity, which has a rich history, the Pacific region gives us the opportunity for Colombia to show why it is the country of beauty,” President Petro said in an announcement Tuesday.
“This is also an opportunity to heal wounds, to seal a social pact, to put the eyes of the world on the Pacific, its regions and the conflicts. This is the time for the protection of life, for ‘Peace with Nature’,” he added.
Peace with Nature has been picked as the official slogan for the event.
Around 12,000 people are expected to travel to COP16, as around 200 countries are set to present their national action plans and strategies for how they intend to meet their commitments under the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
It comes as Colombia is still experiencing outbreaks of violence and uncertainty years after the 2016 peace accord between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) formally ended the nation’s civil war.
The president referred to the COP as the most important international event to ever be held in Colombia, with the government stressing the urgency of ending global biodiversity loss as well as the role it can play in domestic affairs.
A third of the population in the Pacific region is Indigenous or has African roots, and 40% of it is made up of autonomous territories or ethnic communities, the government announcement said.
As well, the Pacific has over 200 protected areas, 11 national natural parks covering almost 51,400 square kilometres, with some 1,300 species of fauna and 14,000 plant species.
“This is important because for the first time in many years the world’s eyes are on our region for something positive,” said Cali mayor Alejandro Eder, according to the El Pais newspaper.
In addition to action plans set out to meet the target to protect 30% of the world’s terrestrial and ocean areas by 2030, much of the focus at COP16 will be on finance.
In the GBF, developed countries committed to contributing at least $20 billion per year to developing nations for biodiversity purposes by 2025, and at least $30 bln annually by 2030.
However, when the council of the GBF Fund held its inaugural meeting earlier this month, it had only raised a total $214 million.
As well, the UK-France initiated International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits is expected to present a framework that it wants to form the foundations of the emerging global voluntary biodiversity credit market.
COP16 will take place at the Pacific Valley Events Center in Cali from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1.
news@carbon-pulse.com
** Click here to sign up to our twice-weekly biodiversity newsletter **
