Global environmental leaders gather Monday in Cali, Colombia to assess the world鈥檚 plummeting biodiversity levels and commitments by countries to protect plants, animals and critical habitats.
The two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP16, is a follow-up to the 2022 Montreal meetings where 196 countries signed a historic global treaty to protect biodiversity.
The accord includes 23 measures to halt and reverse nature loss, including putting 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030.
鈥淲e hope that (COP16) will be an opportunity for countries to get to work and focus on implementation, monitoring and compliance mechanisms that then have to be developed in their countries and in their national plans,鈥� said Laura Rico, campaign director at Avaaz, a global activism nonprofit.
A real threat to biodiversity loss
All evidence shows dramatic decline in species abundance and distribution, said Linda Krueger, director of biodiversity at The Nature Conservancy.
鈥淎 lot of wild species have less room to live, and they鈥檙e declining in numbers,鈥� Krueger said. 鈥淎nd we also see rising extinction rates. Things that we haven鈥檛 even discovered yet are blinking out.鈥�
The world is experiencing its largest loss of life since the dinosaurs, with around 1 million plant and animal species now threatened with extinction, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
In the Amazon rainforest, threats to biodiversity include the expansion of the agricultural frontier and road networks, deforestation, forest fires and drought, says Andrew Miller, advocacy director at Amazon Watch, an organization that protects the rainforest.
鈥淵ou put all of that together and it鈥檚 a real threat to biodiversity,鈥� Miller said.
Global wildlife populations have plunged on average by 73% in 50 years, according to the WWF and the Zoological Society of London biennial Living Planet report this month.
The report said Latin America and the Caribbean saw 95% average declines in recorded wildlife populations.
Indigenous communities key to biodiversity protection
Indigenous people are on the front lines of protecting biodiversity and fighting against climate change, putting their lives at great risk, said Miller of Amazon Watch.
鈥淎 lot of discourse has been given about the voices of local communities 鈥� Indigenous peoples really playing a key role,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 one of the things that we鈥檒l be looking for at COP16.鈥�
Indigenous peoples hold the solutions to combat the climate change and biodiversity crises, Rico said.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e who have been taking care of the land, healing the land through their governance systems, their care systems and their ways of life,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o 鈥� it鈥檚 fundamental that the COP recognizes, promotes and encourages the legalization of their territories.鈥�
In Colombia鈥檚 capital, Bogota, the head of an Amazon Indigenous organization said the region鈥檚 Indigenous people have been preparing for months for COP16.
鈥淭his is a great opportunity to make the impact that we need to demonstrate to all the actors that come from other countries the importance of Indigenous peoples for the world,鈥� said Jose Mendez, secretary of the National Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no secret to anyone that we 鈥� are at risk right now,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he effects that we are currently experiencing due to climate change, the droughts that the country is experiencing, the Amazon River has never gone through a drought like the current one. 鈥� This is causing many species to become extinct.鈥�
Nature can recover
Colombia鈥檚 environment minister Susana Muhamad, who is presiding over COP16, told local media this month that one of the conference鈥檚 main objectives is to deliver the message that 鈥渂iodiversity is as important, complementary and indispensable as the energy transition and decarbonization.鈥�
Part of Colombia鈥檚 first ever leftist government, Muhamad cautioned last year鈥檚 World Economic Forum about the risks of continuing an extractive economy that ignores the social and environmental consequences of natural resource exploitation.
Since the 2022 Montreal conference, 鈥減rogress has been too slow鈥�, says Eva Zabey, executive director of the coalition Business for Nature.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been some progress,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut the headline message is the implementation of the global biodiversity framework is too slow and we need to scale and speed up.鈥�
鈥淐OP16 comes at an absolutely critical moment for us to move from targets setting to real actions on the ground,鈥� Zabey said.
Although biodiversity declines are grim, some environmentalists believe a reversal is possible. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had some very successful species reintroductions and we鈥檝e saved species when we really focus on what is causing their decline,鈥� said The Nature Conservancy鈥檚 Krueger.
