The 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) wrapped up in Cali, Colombia, on Friday night, with a historic decision on recognizing indigenous peoples' role in protecting nature.
Three major consensuses were reached at the conference, according to Maria Susana Muhamad Gonzalez, Colombia's Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development.
They are establishing a subsidiary body that will include indigenous peoples and local communities in future talks and decisions on nature conservation, recognizing the important role of African descents in the protection of nature, and drawing up work plans for local communities up to 2030.
At the conference, eight governments pledged an additional 163 million U.S. dollars to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), bringing the total amount to about 400 million U.S. dollars. However, this is still far short of the billions of dollars needed to tackle plummeting global biodiversity.
Global wildlife populations have plunged on average by 73 percent in 50 years, according to the biennial Living Planet report released by the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London in October.
The COP16 lasted 12 days, featuring 600 academic events and attracting the participation of 31,000 people, including government leaders and officials, community members, environmental experts and scholars.
UN biodiversity conference concludes in Colombia
