Image: trapezoid
The World Congress for Nature in Cali, Colombia, ended without agreement on some financing issues. That night, representatives from about 200 countries failed to reach an agreement at the 16th United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity (COP16). “After this conference, the goal of halting or even reversing the destruction of nature by 2030 remains elusive,” said Florian Titze, an expert on international politics at WWF-Germany.
Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), said: “It is regrettable that the World Congress for Nature did not end with a strategic decision on how to raise more funds for nature conservation. ”
The WWF Environment Foundation said the end of the WWF was an “embarrassment”. “After a 12-hour final plenary session, the meeting had to end abruptly even though the agenda items had not been completed. There were no longer enough representatives in the room to constitute a quorum.”
Differences with Southern Hemisphere countries are now even more severe
Janis Stopel, a political expert at Greenpeace Germany, said the EU's blockade of biodiversity funds at the end of the conference deepened the rift between industrialized countries and those in the Global South. “What was previously a positive meeting now ends in a growing pain of loss of trust.”
WWF also said the failure to agree on a global biodiversity fund had serious implications for already strained trust relationships between industrialized countries and countries in the global South.
The financing strategy was not adopted – and in the absence of this agreement and the lack of a quorum in the already half-empty room, the mechanism for countries to measure the results of its implementation was ultimately removed from the final resolution.
Provide more protection for oceans
Highlights in Cali include breakthroughs in protecting marine areas rich in biodiversity, as well as greater engagement with indigenous peoples, local communities and their traditional knowledge, WWF said. Delegates agreed to establish a subcommittee to include indigenous peoples in future conservation discussions and decision-making.
“I am particularly pleased that the voices of indigenous peoples and local communities are being strengthened, as they play an extremely important role in global biodiversity conservation,” Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said at the end of the meeting said in a statement. “The past two weeks of intense negotiations have also made it clear that we still have a lot of work to do.”
Implementation of the World Nature Treaty
The meeting mainly discussed the technical implementation and financing issues of the “World Nature Treaty” adopted two years ago. In Montreal in 2022, some 200 countries agreed on 23 goals to be achieved by 2030.
“I am particularly pleased that the voices of indigenous peoples and local communities are being strengthened, as they play an extremely important role in global biodiversity conservation,” Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said at the end of the meeting said in a statement. “The past two weeks of intense negotiations have also made it clear that we still have a lot of work to do.”
You may also be interested in:
Four days have passed since hunter Roland Drexler (56) was suspected of killing two people in Upper Austria. The man has been on the run since. On Friday, Austrian police reported at least one preliminary clue: Following a tip from the public, Drexler's car was found in a small forest in Arnreit, Mühlviertel, Austria. Police believe the car was only there for a short time.
