Geonoma at COP 16 – The COP of Biodiversity and People

The COP 16 on biological diversity took place from October 21 to November 1, and Geonoma was there, participating in partner panels, witnessing negotiations between countries, and experiencing the incredible gathering of people from all over the world, united by the focus on conserving biological diversity.

With the theme “Peace with Nature,” this COP was informally called “The People’s COP,” which truly reflected its proceedings and outcomes. This was the first COP following the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022 at COP 15, which established 23 targets, including the famous Target 3 aimed at the effective conservation of at least 30% of all terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. With the targets now on paper, COP 16 focused on regulating and implementing the Global Framework.

Some progress was made, particularly in recognizing local communities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous peoples as conservation agents and ensuring their proper integration into conservation projects and resources. One of the main outcomes was the creation of a permanent subsidiary body for Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities, and Afro-descendants. In practice, this means a negotiation plenary where these communities will play a leading role in providing technical guidance on biodiversity agreements.

However, “The People’s COP” wasn’t limited to the Blue Zone, the area with exclusive access for accredited delegations. The Green Zone, located in downtown Cali and open to everyone, was a tremendous success. The people of Cali embraced the event wholeheartedly, and it was common to see Colombians wearing COP-themed t-shirts, caps, and badges on the streets. The Green Zone was a hotspot for school groups and entire families, even with their pets, enthusiastically participating in immersive exhibitions that radiated joy and environmental awareness.

Returning to the Blue Zone, COP 16 ended with many unresolved issues and a clear disparity in opinions between the Global North and South. Consensus on financing mechanisms could not be reached, and this topic will need to be revisited in two years at the next COP.

For Geonoma, witnessing the development of international instruments to guide concrete conservation actions was a unique experience. We also had the chance to reconnect with friends, meet project partners in person after years of online interactions, and, of course, showcase our work in biodiversity actions—after all, biodiversity is the foundation of Geonoma.

We attended COP 16 as part of the Instituto Life delegation, as we are accredited as Expert Life Consultants, which qualifies us to apply the Life Key tool in institutions and companies looking to quantify their negative and positive impacts on biodiversity. This can even lead to the generation of marketable biodiversity credits. But that’s a topic for another publication.