To Make Peace with Nature, First We Must Properly Value Nature – at COP16 and Beyond

The next 12 months bring unique opportunity to showcase pivotal role Latin America can play in solving the biodiversity and climate crises.

It has been two years since the gavel fell in Montreal, giving us the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Since that time, governments, civil society, and businesses have been working to formulate actionable plans – and to catalyze the financial flows needed – to bring these goals to fruition.??

The UN Biodiversity Conference will mark the start of a series of high-level policy gatherings for nature and people. Starting with the UN Biodiversity Conference in Colombia in October, to the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November, and building to the UN Climate Change COP30 in Brazil in 2025, the next 12 months will bring a unique opportunity to showcase the pivotal role that critical regions throughout Latin America can play in solving the biodiversity and climate crises.?

Colombia is one of only 17 megadiverse countries on Earth. It is a global environmental leader with a track record of valuing nature. It is incredibly fitting that they are the host of the CBD COP with a mandate to accelerate the actions laid out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).??

Science shows the crises facing our planet to be fundamentally interconnected. Climate and Biodiversity are two sides of the same coin – you cannot protect one without the other. For too long, the policy responses have been in parallel rather than interdependent. COP16 holds the promise of weaving these two strands together.

The Colombian government knows it has an historic opportunity on its hands. This is evident in the host country’s vision for this COP, and in its recent publication of a national energy transition plan with nature at its core. Increasingly, enlightened actors are realizing that driving climate action without corresponding progress on biodiversity is a dead end.??

To ensure meaningful progress we must align on Implementation of the GBF through ambitious, country-level targets; Integration of biodiversity into the very DNA of the global economy via a strong mainstreaming agenda; and Investment, via the urgent scaling-up of finance directed towards nature-positive outcomes.?

We see the potential to deliver the US$20 billion required by 2025 while equitably increasing access to finance for Indigenous Peoples and mission-critical local communities. Moreover, this can and must be done while integrating climate and biodiversity finance through the power of nature-based solutions. Alongside our partners, The Nature Conservancy will bring tangible examples of progress we are seeing on the ground to specifically address the protection and management of 30% of the world’s terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas by the year 2030.?

Biodiversity holds an intrinsic role in supporting the global economy, food security, climate stability, and planetary health. Ultimately, the decisions made at COP16 will shape our planet’s future – and, in the words of Minister Susana Muhamad : “We hope that COP16 in Colombia can help the world to make peace with nature, so that we can sustain and maintain life on the planet forever.”??

The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 81 countries and territories (40 by direct conservation impact and 41 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit nature.org or follow @nature_press on X.