Columbian government officials and indigenous groups have vowed to strengthen biodiversity conservation efforts as the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP) opened on Sunday in the country's southwestern city of Cali.
The meeting, which began on Monday and runs through Nov 1, brings together more than 15,000 people from over 190 countries, including global environmental ministers and ecological experts, making it the most attended event of its kind since the conference began in 1994, UN officials said.
Data showed that Colombia has lost more than 6 million hectares of forest since 1990, and such deforestation process is still accelerating due to illicit economies like drug trafficking, arms smuggling, and the illegal wildlife trade.
Caught in the middle are marginalized communities that are trying to protect nature but are often reduced to just trying to survive, according to government officials.
"These are historically marginalized communities that have been historically abandoned by the government, where there is no alternative economic strategies and where organized criminal groups have coerced communities," said Mauricio Cabrera Leal, Vice Minister of Environmental Policies and Standardization of Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia.
Nancy Bravo comes from one of those war-ravaged areas in Colombia, her Nasa indigenous community in the Cauca Valley has been battling deforestation from the illegal coca trade.
As the regional councilwoman and a spectator of the COP16, Bravo said her people have fought hard to develop legitimate, sustainable businesses, and wanted to learn what other communities are doing to battle illegal economies.
"We consider as a community that any opportunity to unite, and whoever we can ally with for the care of the environment is important. That is why we are here," she said.
The government should take the opportunity of the conference to formulate strategies to combat illegal deforestation and transnational crime and strengthen community building, such as pushing for a COP16 agreement to promote transparency in the mineral sector and encouraging more discussions for transitional change, according to Leal.
"We want the signing of an international agreement, for the traceability and transparency of minerals, so that producers and buyers can find transparency in this process, so we can halt conflicts, human trafficking, contamination, and mercury use," said Leal.
Colombians vow to strengthen biodiversity conservation
Colombians vow to strengthen biodiversity conservation
Colombians vow to strengthen biodiversity conservation
The ongoing 136th session of the China Import and Export Fair is helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Yulin City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region reach global customers. Commonly known as the Canton Fair, the event serves as a platform for SMEs to connect with global customers and expand their presence in international markets. Most of the 10,400 enterprises attending the second phase of the Canton Fair, running from Wednesday to Sunday, are SMEs.
During a promotion event at the Canton Fair, inheritors from Bobai County of Yulin dressed in traditional ethnic costumes, showcased the Guangxi intangible cultural heritage of rattan crafts. The crafts are primarily made using natural materials such as bamboo, wood, grass and rattan. With a history of over 50 years in foreign trade, these woven handicrafts have been exported to more than 40 countries and regions around the world. Tu Chunxiao, who has been engaged in weaving for 21 years, showcased hand-woven home decorations and household items at the exhibition. Her offerings have expanded from a single storage basket to over 20,000 products in five categories. These distinctive products attracted many potential buyers. "We received orders totaling more than 800,000 U.S. dollars on the first day. Although we come from a small county, we want to expand into overseas markets through the Canton Fair platform, obtain more orders, provide more job opportunities for Bobai craftsmen, and pass on and promote our intangible cultural heritage skills globally," said Tu. A ceramic company from Yulin brought its popular high-temperature white porcelain to the event. The Canton Fair platform has played a crucial role in the company's growth. "We have attended 26 sessions of the Canton Fair, and our scale and orders have increased more than tenfold. We brought over 500 varieties of our products this time," said Tian Yusen, an exhibitor. A total of 59 Yulin companies attended the second phase of the exhibition as a group. Local authorities organized a special promotion event, aiming to showcase three locally advantageous industries to global customers. "We attended this year's Canton Fair to host a promotion event for the foreign trade transformation and upgrading base in Yulin, mainly recommending Guangxi's bamboo, wood and grass products, as well as ceramics, textiles and clothing," said Tan Pei, head of the Yulin Commerce Bureau. The 136th Canton Fair is running in three phases from Oct 15 to Nov 4 in Guangzhou City of south China's Guangdong Province. Themed "serving high-quality development, promoting high-level opening-up," this edition of the fair features more than 30,000 exhibitors showcasing 1.15 million new products.
Canton Fair helps remote city SMEs reach global customers
