As an iDiv Associate Member since 2022 and political scientist, I was for the first time part of the delegation of iDiv. My research centres around environmental conflicts at the local level and the role of communities and Indigenous groups in biodiversity protection in Colombia. I was also able to present at a side event with my Colombian colleagues from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Bogotá.
If we put the rights of these local groups into focus, COP16 was a remarkable event for the global protection of biodiversity in several regards:
Firstly, key decisions were made by the parties on a new work programme within the framework of Article 8J that regulates the inclusion of indigenous groups, notably the creation of a permanent subsidiary body. Also, the so-called people of Afro-descent were formally recognised as a status group with respect to their traditional customs in the protection of biodiversity.
Second, the event in Cali proved to have a mobilising effect throughout Colombia and the whole region: COP16 had the highest rate of participants in the blue “negotiation” zone and the green “event” zone. Colombia succeeded in raising support for a global coalition on “Peace with Nature”, putting, for example, the consequences of armed confrontations for biodiversity protection on the public agenda.
Thirdly, one key takeaway from the discussions within the Academy & Research Caucus is that scientists – both social and natural – need to reflect more on “how science is made”. This points primarily to the question of the inclusion of diverse knowledge systems into research and knowledge production, e.g. from indigenous groups and more participatory methods of research. However, one major concern among the community of scholars was the remarkable neglect – or even denial – of scientific evidence of biodiversity loss by some delegations and the increasing challenge researchers face accessing data in light of (travel) restrictions by some governments.
Parties also made some long-awaited decisions, notably protecting oceans and digital sequencing. However, to the host’s disappointment and many participants, COP16 was suspended on the morning of 2nd November due to a missing quorum of delegations with many undecided topics, such as financial support schemes. COP16 will resume its work during a session at the end of February 2025 in Rome, Italy, and hopefully advance discussions and make crucial decisions.
As part of its mission for an integrative and interdisciplinary perspective on biodiversity protection, iDiv is organizing a virtual post-COP16 briefing on 8j and the role of local communities in English and Spanish on 27th January 2025, 14:00-15:30 CET. Representatives from indigenous groups, from people of African descent and the German government will exchange on the impact of the COP16 and the upcoming agenda in the intersessional period. The event is organized in collaboration with the German-Colombian Peace Institute CAPAZ and registration is still possible.
