COP16: only 35 of 196 countries presented their complete biodiversity action plans | TECHNOLOGY

Cali, Colombia. The United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP16) It is the global accountability meeting, to which many countries arrived without fulfilling the task they had been assigned for two years.

After the approval of the World Biodiversity Framework Kunming Montreal, At COP15 held in 2022, countries had to deliver their Biodiversity Action Plan (NBSAP), a document in which they must detail their strategies and actions aimed at meeting the 23 goals to which they committed to the year 2030. However, at the start of COP16, only 35 of 196 nations submitted their complete plans.

Colombia, Mexico, Cuba and Suriname were the only Latin American nations that did the task, despite the fact that the presentation of the plans is one of the key points of COP16, since this meeting aims to analyze how realistic, measurable and ambitious the goals and indicators of each plan are.

Karen Oliveira, director of Public Policies and International Relations at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Brazil, considers that having only 35 NBSAPs is somewhat worrying, because in 2022 all countries made the commitment to review their strategies and those that do not even They had them, they had to create them and establish a plan. “This was very important, because the Kunming Montreal World Framework goes until 2030. We only have six years to implement it,” says Oliveira.

The construction of plans takes a long time, and it is also necessary to make an agreement with various actors, because it is not just a government instrument, “but it must have the participation of civil society, the private sector, the financial sector. and the academy so that it can really be implemented,” comments the TNC Brazil expert.

The Amazon basin, only with two plans

The Amazon is facing a crisis due to unprecedented droughts and fires, which has led to the Amazon River experiencing historic low flows. This biome is key to the fight against climate and biodiversity crises, and although there are actions for its conservation, there is also growing concern because the “point of no return” is being reached, that moment in which the loss of forests and ecosystem services will be faster than the Amazon’s ability to recover. In that sense, Experts are concerned that, of the countries that share the biome, only Colombia and Suriname have presented their NBSAPs.

Ximena Barrera, director of Government Relations and International Affairs of WWF Colombia, assures that it is vital that all countries accelerate the presentation of their NBSAP and that these are measurable, that they have a focus that includes the entire society, that they involve transformation of the productive sectors and that develop clear financing strategies.

“Without financing it will be impossible to implement the goals of the Kunming Montreal Framework and this is a fundamental issue within the negotiation, because there is a very large economic gap to overcome,” says Barrera.

For the WWF Colombia specialist, the mission of COP16 is to leave a clear route to mobilize financial resources, review incentives or subsidies to industries that are generating negative consequences on biodiversity, strengthen governance schemes and ensure access to financing for indigenous peoples and local communities.

Oliveira considers that there is a lack of greater political will with biodiversity: “The political will with biodiversity is not that strong. More effort is needed from governments to bring the biodiversity agenda to the level of the climate agenda. There is a lot of talk about climate, but not as much about biodiversity. However, today we know that to confront climate change we need increasingly more comprehensive and stronger biodiversity.”

The expectation with the Colombia plan

During the first day of work at COP16 there was a lot of expectation because the Colombian government, host of the conference, announced its Biodiversity Action Plan. The Minister of the Environment of Colombia, Susana Muhamad, presented it at a press conference and assured that this plan “will be the guide that will contribute to the protection and conservation of nature by 2030, through four commitments, six ambitious, measurable national goals. and achievable and 191 formalized actions that seek to contribute to the fulfillment of the 23 goals of the Kunming Montreal Global Framework.”

Muhammad explained that One of the key goals is for Colombia to increase from 24 to 34% of its territory under some environmental protection measure. In addition, the minister assured that the country seeks to generate a new economic sector through the bioeconomy – those parts of the economy that use renewable biological resources from land and sea – which currently represents only 0.8% of the Gross Domestic Product. (GDP) so that it goes to 3% in 2030, generating half a million jobs.

Other important points of Colombia’s NBSAP focus on advancing the reconversion of five million hectares to sustainable production models and restoration processes, as well as reducing the impact of illicit economies on the country’s ecosystems, “seeking to have a reduction of at least 50% in the levels of wildlife trafficking and the impact of environmental crimes,” said the Minister of Environment.

Ximena Barrera, from WWF, highlights that Colombia’s NBSAP presents four big bets. The first is focused on how to strengthen territorial planning and the integration of environmental considerations in productive sectors. The second is the transformation of these productive sectors to protect nature and confront climate change. “This is not just an agenda of the Ministry of the Environment, but involves all sectors of society,” he says.

The third bet has to do with environmental crimes, corruption and illegality. “We need to confront those illicit economies that are generating impacts on the territories, for example, illegal mining and its environmental liabilities,” Barrera highlights.

The fourth commitment is focused on how to strengthen territorial governance issues, “recognizing not only the importance of biodiversity, but also cultural diversity.”

For his part, Oliveira highlights the boost that Colombia’s Action Plan gives to the issue of governance of the Amazon basin, with the participation of civil society, and believes that other countries should also include strategies in their plans to conserve ecosystems. of fresh water, “because normally we talk about oceans, coasts and land, but we don’t talk about inland waters.”