COP16 creates body to support indigenous peoples, quilombolas
An unprecedented decision at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, last weekend secured the participation of indigenous peoples, quilombolas, and local communities in the negotiating framework of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Nearly 200 countries endorsed the creation of a new global advisory body to include these communities in the decision-making process.
“We have made a historic, unprecedented decision that finally brings Afro-descendant communities out of invisibility. These communities, with their customs, play a vital role in preserving biodiversity and nature—protecting forests, rivers, and the very resources we rely on,” stated Maria Angélica Ikeda, director of the Environment Department at Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
COP16
Every two years, signatory countries of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) gather to make global decisions on biodiversity at the United Nations Conference of the Parties. This year, the 16th edition of the conference was held in Cali, Colombia.
Established during the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (ECO92) in Rio de Janeiro, the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty focused on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, as well as the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from genetic resources.
The new subsidiary body will join two other existing ones that provide scientific and technical guidance on the negotiation process, supporting the secretariat responsible for organizing the Biodiversity COPs. These permanent bodies also ensure continuity between conference presidencies.
Oceans
Another significant breakthrough at COP16, which concluded in the early hours of Saturday (Nov. 2), was the recognition of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs).
These specific zones in the oceans play a crucial role in maintaining marine biodiversity and are defined by nine criteria: uniqueness or rarity; special importance for the life stages of species; significance for endangered, threatened, or declining species or habitats; vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity, or slow recovery; biological productivity; biological diversity; and naturalness.
Global fund
The Cali Fund was also established as a multilateral financial mechanism aimed at creating a genetic resources bank and ensuring the equitable distribution of the benefits generated. At least half of the fund is designated for the traditional communities that possess this knowledge.
In practice, businesses that utilize natural resources, such as pharmacies and manufacturing industries, will contribute 1 percent of their profits or 0.1 percent of their revenue to the global fund.
Article 21
Conversely, the establishment of an additional mechanism to finance the goals of the convention, as outlined in an article of the treaty, did not advance during the final plenary discussions.
There was no consensus on structuring an exclusive biodiversity fund to ensure that the “flow of resources is predictable, adequate, and timely, in line with the required amount,” as stipulated in the text created 32 years ago and amended by the countries.
“We had to start these discussions at the beginning of the COP. We must reach decisions that guarantee, for the first time, the resources we need. Only then we can discuss the obligations,” said Ikeda, after the debates on Article 21 were interrupted by the developed countries, which were supposed to be the financiers of the new mechanism.
