After a failed first round of negotiations in October, the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16) concluded at the end of last week with an agreement on financing global biodiversity. The aim is to find 200 billion dollars a year to reverse the destruction of nature.

"The road to 2030 has been mapped out, and now it's up to governments and the private sector to ensure that the commitments made are translated into concrete actions to protect nature and guarantee a sustainable future for all," writes Associação Zero in a statement quoted by the Portuguese newspaper Business.

According to the same publication, environmentalists consider the agreement to be a victory not only because of the impact it will have on protecting the planet, but also because it shows that "multilateralism remains an essential tool for tackling the biodiversity crisis".

In October, when the countries met in Cali, Colombia, it had not been possible to reach an agreement on who would contribute to this fund and how it would be managed. For Susana Muhamad, president of COP 16 and Colombia's environment minister, quoted by ReutersThis was a way of showing that unity is still possible for "the common good, the environment and the protection of life".

The agreement, which will make it possible to comply with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, ensures greater representation for the countries of the southern hemisphere and greater access to these resources. The launch of the Cali Fund will include contributions from the private sector, which will be earmarked, in 50%, for indigenous and local communities so that they can preserve biodiversity.

The companies that will contribute to this fund are mainly those that use genetic coding from the natural world to design cosmetics and medicines. The amounts will contribute to the annual effort of 200 billion dollars to be invested by the end of this decade.

Of this amount, around 30 billion should be guaranteed by the richest countries, which include the member states of the European Union, Japan and Canada - and given to poor nations. The next COP 17 is scheduled for 2026, in Armenia.

(Photo DR)