COP16 on biodiversity: a tragic failure

It is now November 1, 2024 when the 16th Conference of the Parties on Biodiversity (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, has ended on a bad note.

Although small strides were made on issues related to indigenous peoples and the sharing of genetic resources, global biodiversity conservation saw no improvement whatsoever.

Most of the 196 countries, in fact, took several steps backward during COP16 including, of course, Italy.

But let's see in detail what all these “non - decisions” will entail in our future!

Let's start with the origins

On December 18, 2022, the COP15 for Biodiversity held in Montreal, Canada, had approvedthe Kunming-Montréal Agreement,

which as an ultimate goal had the protection of at least 30 percent of the Earth's lands, oceans, coastal areas, and inland waters

so as to counter the loss and complete extinction of the remaining biodiversity on our planet.

And it is from these goals that COP16 was supposed to start again, thus verifying the progress made and the goals achieved in these two years by the 196 countries of the United Nations.

The ending of the story, however, was not even close to what we all might have expected!

National Biodiversity Plans: a real mirage

During COP16, each of the 196 UN countries was supposed to present their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs),

explaining how they would best contribute to global biodiversity goals.

However, only 15 per cent of the 196 countries submitted NBSAPs, and by the end of the conference only 25 per cent had done so.

In short, as many as 147 countries did not even bother to draw up plans worthy of the name!

But the situation became even more serious when COP16, realising the disgraceful number of countries that did not show the slightest interest in environmental issues,

thought of simply urging countries to submit their plans "as soon as possible",

without giving a binding deadline and thus leaving total freedom of interpretation to each individual country.

So, two years on from the launch of these National Biodiversity Plans, we are still without any kind of concrete strategy and implementation plans worthy of the name. 

All countries are in danger of losing most of the world's biodiversity without being able to do anything about it.

It is not the "simple", albeit depressing, problem of biodiversity loss that "might happen sooner or later",

but the problem now turns out to be solely and solely the speed with which this loss will happen..

The more countries continue to close their eyes and turn away, pretending that nothing is happening, the faster we will lose animals and plants,

and sooner or later we will be unable to do anything but watch helplessly this depressing and painful total and irreversible loss of so many and diverse living things.

Why should you regularly review your goals?

The 196 countries were relieved not only by the idea of national biodiversity plans, but also by the commitment to regularly review their targets..

In short, if a country sets a target to reduce biodiversity loss by 10 per cent in five years,

COP16 says it will not have to revise the plan every now and then, but it will be discussed again in five years' time. 

And if that particular country has made the right choices, it will have succeeded in reducing that 10% loss, otherwise we will all be left without a good percentage of the world's animal and plant species.

That's okay!

That's because the agreement stipulates that countries "MAY" update their plans if and when they feel like it, without any particular obligation to do so.

But let us now look at what this fine decision will do to us!

Let us start by saying that, without a strong commitment, NO COUNTRY will ever set about revising its plans, and this will further slow down global progress, which is already far too little and too slow.

Moreover, by never revising their plans, NO COUNTRY will ever make timely corrections to the few efforts they are making to protect biodiversity.

And all of this is likely to take us to 2030 without having made any progress at all,

but on the contrary, we will have caused further irreversible damage to biodiversityand completely destabilised every type of ecosystem on planet Earth.

Cali Fund in COP16: a bait-and-switch?

One aspect of COP16 that at first glance seems very positive is the new Cali Fund,

which has been established to collect voluntary contributions from companies that use digitalised genetic information for the development of commercial products such as medicines and cosmetics.

Pharmaceutical and cosmetics companiesare using the biodiversity of developing countries to make their products,

but without sharing the benefits with the countries where that biodiversity comes from.

This is why the Cali Fund was created!

The aim is to start sharing the benefits with all the countries where the raw materials used to make the world's exported goods come from.

However, there is a big, deep catch to this "ideal", which boils down to that powerful little word cleverly placed in the middle of all the others: "VOLUNTARY contributions"!

And there the whole paper castle collapses in a nanosecond!

Which of the richer countries would ever set out to voluntarily pay poorer countries when they can continue to keep all the proceeds for themselves?

A bait-and-switch, indeed!

And here, countries will continue to engage in practices of "biopiracy'

that is, all those practices by which genetic resources of animal and plant species from a country in the global South are exploited

without guaranteeing any kind of economic return to the nations that own these resources, which are so important to all of us!

What does this mean?

The countries of the Global South will find that they have to spend untold amounts of money in order to successfully conserve biodiversity, and will receive no economic support in return!

Needless to say, this will increasingly lead to:

1. Increased inequality;
2. Reduced availability of resources for biodiversity conservation;
3. Accelerated degradation of local ecosystems.

Financing for nature: another big flop in the COP16

The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), to be launched in 2022 in Montreal at the COP15 on Biodiversity,

calls on developed countries to contribute at least $25 billion by 2025,

and $30 billion by 2030 to help developing countries protect biodiversity.

All of these goals are certainly worthy of consideration.

In theory.

But in practice?

COP16 ended, once again, without any real agreement!

It's a bit like when our friends ask us to go out after dinner and we say "yeah, let's see, I'll let you know!"

and we always end up on the couch with a blanket and a good TV series accompanied by some junk food to munch on!

Nothing, nothing ever gets done!

"We'll see!" 

And so it was that none of the 196 countries paid even half as much as expected!

And so the loss of biodiversity will continue unabated,

ecosystems will collapse, those animal and plant species that are still viable will be seriously endangered, and the whole natural ecosystem will completely lose the balance so vital to its survival.

But let us not think for a moment that none of this affects us!

Let's not forget that with all this loss of life, climate change will only get worse, soils will completely lose their fertility,

and we humans, if "all goes well", will end up with nothing.

"Adaptation" will no longer be the word of choice for us humans, simply because there will be nothing left to adapt to!