CBD COP 16 under the motto "Peace with Nature" to address implementation of the nature conservation decisions adopted in Montreal
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke will take part tomorrow in the High-Level Segment of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 16) in Cali, Colombia. The two-week conference under the header "Peace with Nature" began on 21 October 2024 and brings together delegates from around the world to take concrete steps to advance implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The framework, adopted two years ago at the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, is a milestone in international biodiversity conservation. The negotiating goals include the 30x30 target, which calls for designating at least 30 percent of the Earth’s land and sea area as protected areas by 2030, and a target to restore at least 30 percent of all degraded ecosystems. The main focus of this year’s COP is the effective implementation of nature conservation measures, monitoring progress and improving the measurability of progress.
Minister Steffi Lemke commented: "At this UN Biodiversity Conference, we must make the decisions adopted two years ago a reality. We now need very concrete steps for global nature conservation and we must make this process measurable. The main goal is to conserve and restore the habitats of a diverse range of species. This is not only important for preserving nature’s diversity. It is also about securing our own existence. Biodiversity gives us clean water, fertile soil and species-rich oceans as important food sources. In addition, nature is our best and most indispensable ally in the fight against climate change. It helps us with climate adaptation and prevents desertification and the degradation of landscapes. We must protect nature so that nature can protect us. The entire international community will have to demonstrate in Cali that it takes the visionary Montreal biodiversity decisions seriously and is successfully implementing them."
A key goal at COP 16 is to establish effective monitoring and review mechanisms to ensure that the Global Biodiversity Framework is implemented. This will require setting up a new review process where the contracting parties regularly report on and discuss their progress. Germany calls for creating an independent forum where countries can discuss successes and obstacles in nature conservation and talk openly about the current state of biodiversity in their countries.
In the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, for example, Germany supports other countries in identifying and funding urgent needs in implementing their national biodiversity strategies. The National Biodiversity Strategy 2030 (NBS 2030) is Germany’s basis for implementing the targets adopted two years ago in Montreal. The associated action plan contains a range of measures aiming to stop the trend in biodiversity loss by 2030.
In addition, Germany is also committed to enhancing the role, visibility and participation of indigenous peoples and local communities, including under the International Climate Initiative (IKI). Indigenous peoples and local communities play a key role in nature conservation because they live in harmony with nature and because their comprehensive traditional knowledge, their practices and innovations contribute to sustainable biodiversity conservation around the word. Inclusive and effective participation from indigenous peoples and local communities is thus of key importance in implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke commented: "Worldwide nature conservation can only succeed if it gets people involved. It is work we have to undertake together. This is important to me. This is the only way to create a general awareness of the great value of our global wealth of species and how much we depend on it in so many areas of our lives, from an environmental as well as an economic standpoint. The traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities and their methods for managing nature, which have been passed down for generations, are vital. We can learn much from them. Only working together with them will we be able to effectively protect biodiversity."
At the COP, Germany will also work to strengthen financing for GBF implementation from all sources and advance the alignment of financial flows with the framework.
Background information
2024 is an important year for global environmental protection and nature conservation. No less than three important Conferences of the Parties will take place by the end of the year: on biodiversity, climate change and combating desertification. The negotiation mandate for the EU and its Member States at the UN Biodiversity Conference was established in the Council Conclusions of 14 October 2024. The Hungarian Council Presidency and the European Union will head up the negotiations in Cali, Colombia, with support from the 27 Member States. Federal Environment and Consumer Protection Minister Steffi Lemke will lead the German delegation as national lead negotiator. At the High-Level Segment, she will be accompanied from 29 to 30 October by Parliamentary State Secretary Jan-Niclas Gesenhues. Others who will be there include Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The conference will also be attended by other ministries, the agriculture ministry officers responsible for the Cartagena Protocol, members of the Bundestag, members of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) and youth delegates.
The focus at CBD COP 16 is the design of implementation instruments for the Global Biodiversity Framework. Other thematic decisions are also expected, including on biodiversity and climate change, biodiversity and health, marine and coastal biodiversity and digital sequence information on genetic resources. In addition to CBD COP 16 in Cali, meetings of the parties to the protocols of the CBD will also be held: the 11th Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP 11) and the 5th Meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (COP-MOP 5).