UN biodiversity talks in Cali end with key decisions on finance delayed

New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS) As the two-week negotiations at the United Nations biodiversity summit known as COP16 in the Colombian city of Cali have broken down amid calls to save nature from the current rapid rate of destruction, key decisions on finance were thwarted by developed countries.

Among the notable achievements after 12-days of negotiations involving 196 nations was the launch of “Cali Fund” — sharing the benefits of digital genetic information.

However, negotiators told IANS on Sunday that the developed world blocked the establishment of a biodiversity-related fund agreed at COP15 in Montreal in 2022 to establish a multilateral mechanism to share the benefits from the uses of digital sequence information on genetic resources more fairly and equitably.

Developed countries are lagging on their commitments to provide $20 billion annually in international biodiversity financing by 2025.

Delegates at COP16 under the Colombian presidency advanced the fund’s operationalisation — a historic decision of global importance.

Also, they warmly welcome the historic decision to create a subsidiary body for indigenous peoples and local communities under the biodiversity convention.

The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) was suspended on Saturday by COP President Susana Muhamad, but not before countries agreed on an expanded role of the indigenous people and local communities in saving biodiversity and a groundbreaking agreement on the operationalisation of a new global mechanism to share benefits from digital genetic information.

The strong results, built on a spirit of compromise, and dialogue, demonstrate that multilateralism can still achieve results in a fractious time.

After roughly 12 hours of meeting in the plenary session, COP16 lost quorum and was suspended before approval of a few last items. Delays throughout the COP and a lack of urgency from countries like the EU, Canada, Switzerland and Japan have left COP16 half-finished. It will resume at a later date and venue to complete the agenda.

The results at COP16 are important strides towards the achievement of the 23 targets for 2030 laid out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted at the previous meeting of the Convention’s 196 Parties in Montreal.

With billions of people depending on nature’s contributions, threats to biodiversity intensifying, and financial resources in short supply, the stakes at COP16 were high.

Under the agreed guidelines, large companies and other major entities benefiting commercially from digital genetic information use should contribute to “the Cali Fund”, based on a percentage of their profits or revenues.

The model targets larger companies most reliant on digital genetic information and exempts academic, public research institutions and other entities using digital genetic information but not directly benefiting.

Developing world countries will benefit from a large part of this fund, with allocations to support the implementation of the KMGBF, according to the priorities of those governments.

At least half of the funding is expected to support the self-identified needs of indigenous peoples and local communities, including women and youth within those communities, through government or by direct payments through institutions identified by indigenous peoples and local communities. Some funds may support capacity building and technology transfer.

Strong monitoring and reporting will ensure industries see the impact of their contributions in a transparent and open way, and regular reviews will build the mechanism’s efficiency and efficacy over time.

This agreement marks a precedent for benefit-sharing in biodiversity conservation with a fund designed to return some of the proceeds from the use of biodiversity to protect and restore nature where help is needed most.

In another landmark decision at COP16, parties adopted a new Programme of Work on Article 8 (j) and other provisions of the convention related to indigenous peoples and local communities.

This transformative programme sets out specific tasks to ensure the meaningful contribution of indigenous people and local communities towards the three objectives of the convention — the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of biological diversity, the fair and equitable sharing of benefits and the implementation of the KMGBF.

Through this programme, rights, contributions and traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities were further embedded in the global agenda.

The Indian delegation to the COP16 released the updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP).

Union Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, delivered the national statement regarding the conservation of biological resources in the high-level segment.

Saying India, one of the world’s 17 mega-diverse rich nations, has taken significant steps in global wildlife conservation by establishing the International Big Cat Alliance aimed at protecting the world’s seven major big cat species, he said their presence is an indicative of a healthy ecosystem and rich biodiversity.

He highlighted India’s efforts in rejuvenating the sacred river Ganga through ‘Namami Gange’ Mission, which has been duly recognised by United Nations as one of the top 10 World Restoration Flagships to revive the riverine ecosystem.

India’s Ramsar sites have risen from 26 to 85 since 2014 and this number is shortly going to reach 100, he said.

Developing countries are debt-ridden, awaiting cash that was promised to them at COP15, and under increasing pressure to keep the ecosystems they all rely upon intact.

At the end of COP16, 44 revised NBSAPs were submitted and 119 nations have submitted revised national targets, representing around 63 per cent of countries, an uptick from before the COP when less than half of countries had published plans or targets.

Kirsten Schuijt, Director General, WWF International, said: “The new ‘Cali Fund’, although imperfect and with many details still to be ironed out, is an important step forward. It ensures that companies profiting from nature contribute fairly to biodiversity conservation and directs critical funding to the people and places that need it most.”

Commenting on the suspension of the meeting, Schuijt added: “Despite Colombia’s valiant efforts and the tireless work of many negotiators to find consensus and build bridges between countries, this outcome jeopardises the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.”

“Nobody should be okay with this — because it will impact us all. Delivering the mission to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030 was never going to be easy, but we’re now veering dangerously off track,” Schuijt added.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)

–IANS

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