BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) 鈥� An annual United Nations conference on biodiversity that ran out of time last year will resume its work Tuesday in Rome with money at the top of the agenda.
That is, how to spend what's been pledged so far 鈥� and how to raise a lot more to help preserve plant and animal life on Earth.
The talks in Colombia known as COP16 yielded before they broke up in November, including an agreement that requires companies that benefit from genetic resources in nature 鈥� say, by developing medicines from rainforest plants 鈥� to share the benefits. And steps were taken to give Indigenous peoples and local communities a stronger voice in conservation matters.
But two weeks turned out to be not enough time to get everything done.
The Cali talks followed the historic 2022 COP15 accord in Montreal, which aimed at protecting biodiversity. Those included putting 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030, known as the Global Biodiversity Framework.
鈥淢ontreal was about the 鈥榳hat鈥� 鈥� what are we all working towards together?鈥� said Georgina Chandler, head of policy and campaigns for the Zoological Society London. 鈥淐ali was supposed to focus on the 鈥榟ow鈥� 鈥� putting the plans and the financing in place to ensure we can actually implement this framework.鈥�
鈥淭hey eventually lost a quorum because people simply went home,鈥� said Linda Krueger of The Nature Conservancy, who is in Rome for the two days of talks 鈥淎nd so now we鈥檙e having to finish these last critical decisions, which are some of the the nitty gritty decisions on financing, on resource mobilization and on the planning and monitoring and reporting requirements under the Global Biodiversity Framework.鈥�
The overall financial aim was to achieve $20 billion a year in the fund by 2025, and then $30 billion by 2030. So far, only $383 million had been pledged as of November, from 12 nations or sub-nations: Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Province of Qu茅bec, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Participants will discuss establishing a 鈥済lobal financing instrument for biodiversity鈥� intended to effectively distribute the money raised. And a big part of the talks will be about raising more money.
鈥楥ompletely off track鈥� on larger financial goal
Chandler and Kruger both said the finance points at Colombia's talks were particularly contentious.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really about how do we collect the money and how do we get it distributed fairly, get it to the ground where it鈥檚 needed most, so that that鈥檚 really the core issue,鈥� said Kruger.
Oscar Soria, chief executive of The Common Initiative, a think tank specializing in global economic and environmental policy, was pessimistic about raising a great deal more money.
鈥淲e are completely off track in terms of achieving that money,鈥� Soria said. Key sources of biodiversity finance are shrinking or disappearing, he said.
鈥淲hat was supposed to be a good Colombian telenovela in which people will actually bring the right resources, and the happy ending of bringing their money, could actually end up being a tragic Italian opera, where no one actually agrees to anything and everyone loses,鈥� Soria said.
Susana Muhamad, Colombia's former environment minister and the COP16 president, said she's hopeful of 鈥渁 good message from Rome.鈥�
鈥淭hat message is that still, even with a very fragmented geopolitical landscape, with a world increasingly in conflict, we can still get an agreement on some fundamental issues," Muhamad said in a statement. "And one of the most important is the need to protect life in this crisis of climate change and biodiversity.鈥�
Global wildlife populations have plunged on average by 73% in 50 years, according to an October report from the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London.
鈥淏iodiversity is basically essential to our livelihoods and well-being,鈥� Chandler said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 essential to the the air we breathe, the water we drink, rainfall that food systems rely on, protecting us from increasing temperatures and increasing storm occurrences as well.鈥�
Chandler said deforestation in the Amazon has far-reaching impacts across South America, just as it does in the Congo Basin and other major biodiverse regions worldwide.
鈥淲e know that has an impact on rainfall, on food systems, on soil integrity in other countries. So it鈥檚 not just something that鈥檚 kind of small and isolated. It's a widespread problem,鈥� she said.
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Steven Grattan, The Associated Press
