What is at stake for Latin America and the Caribbean at COP16 in Cali?

At a time when the planet must face the most serious global environmental challenges in its history, caused by the current economic model, COP16 on Biodiversity will be the ideal setting for Latin America and the Caribbean to reaffirm its role as a region of solutions and raise its voice to influence the global debate on the problem of accelerated biodiversity loss, with a vision that takes into account people and communities whose survival is closely linked to unique and threatened ecosystems. Measures to preserve the region’s biodiversity have the potential to become a global example and to advance towards harmonious and respectful coexistence with nature.

All countries in the region have ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), a 1993 agreement that seeks to conserve biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components and justice in the use of genetic resources, but few have presented action plans to advance the protection of biological diversity by 2030. These plans are one of the great historical milestones achieved at COP15 in Kunming-Montreal in 2022, where 23 key goals were established to stop and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and four objectives to achieve positive biodiversity by 2050, that is, a biodiversity that ensures a healthy planet and provides essential benefits to people.

In Cali, progress on the action plans will be reviewed and two aspects of capital importance for the most megadiverse region on the planet will also be addressed: the establishment of an equitable and fair framework for access to the benefits of genetic resources and the creation of a new framework for monitoring the committed mobilization of 200 billion dollars by 2030.

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COP16 is also expected to bring together initiatives that allow for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity through innovative financial instruments such as debt-for-nature swaps, the issuance of green bonds and biodiversity certificates. Likewise, very active participation is expected from the private sector and philanthropy, which are increasingly paying more attention to ecosystems and the risks arising from the loss of biodiversity. One issue that will receive special attention is the key role played by local communities and indigenous peoples, promoting formulas to include ancestral knowledge in the climate, sustainability and biodiversity agendas. In all these points, the voice of Latin America and the Caribbean will be key.

The region’s leading role is given, especially, by its rich biodiversity: it is home to 60% of global biodiversity, and six of its countries (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela) are classified as megadiverse. These figures also make biodiversity a factor of regional integration, with the connectivity of ecosystems being a key factor for their conservation, and a key tool for the positioning of Latin America and the Caribbean in global discussions on sustainability.

The COP16 on Biodiversity will be the ideal setting for Latin America and the Caribbean to reaffirm its role as a region of solutions

The strategic ecosystems of Latin America and the Caribbean are essential to maintaining the planet’s environmental balance. They cover the entire territory, are interconnected with each other and with other hemispheric ecosystems, and provide key services to guarantee the livelihoods of local populations. These include the páramos, Patagonia, the Caribbean, the Tumbes forests in Chocó and Magdalena, the Atlantic Forest, the Mesoamerican biological corridor, mangroves, the Amazon, the Humboldt Current, the Gran Chaco and Pantanal, among others. COP16 will therefore be a historic moment that will allow for new narratives to be placed in the global debate on Biodiversity.

CAF at COP16

With the Latin American and Caribbean Pavilion, CAF will bring the voice of the region to COP16 to highlight its leading role in preserving global biodiversity. CAF aims to generate debates around the value of strategic ecosystems, the importance of working in the blue economy and the role of science and young people, the need to implement innovative financing systems, or the communities and territories at the forefront of preserving biodiversity.

CAF will address the loss of biodiversity and the use of financial resources with a new perspective that places communities that have direct relations with the natural environment at the centre of the decision-making process and are best positioned to design actions that lead to the regeneration of ecosystems in a manner consistent with the social and environmental context.