COP16 begins in Colombia, nearly 200 countries to participate

The two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) started today in Colombia to assess historic commitments to halt and reverse the loss of nature. Environmental leaders from nearly 200 countries are expected to participate, where 196 countries signed an ambitious global treaty, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, to protect biodiversity. At COP 16, governments will be tasked with reviewing the state of implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Parties to the Convention are expected to show the alignment of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) with the Framework. COP 16 will further develop the monitoring framework and advance resource mobilization for the Global Biodiversity Framework. Among other tasks, COP 16 is also due to finalize and operationalize the multilateral mechanism on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources. Speaking at the opening remarks, Minister of Environment of Colombia Susana Muhamad, said This is going to be a great opportunity for one of the most biodiverse nations in the world. Echoing the same sentiments, Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity said the outcomes of COP 16 accelerate action at all levels to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity.