world’s largest nature conservation conference ended Colombia No agreement was reached on Saturday on a road map to increase funding for species conservation.

The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has been suspended by president Susana Muhamad after negotiations lasted almost 12 hours longer than planned and delegates began leaving to catch flights.

The migration left the summit without a decision-making quorum, but CBD spokesman David Ainsworth told AFP it would continue at a later date to consider outstanding issues.

The mandate of the conference, the largest ever meeting of its kind with nearly 23,000 registered delegates, was to assess and accelerate progress towards the agreement. Reached Canada two years ago To stop mankind from greedily destroying nature’s bounty.

Read moreCountries at COP15 reach historic agreement to stop biodiversity loss

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which emerged from this meeting, Set 23 goals to achieve just five years from now.

These include protecting 30 percent of land and sea areas and restoring 30 percent of degraded ecosystems by 2030, reducing pollution and phasing out harmful agricultural and other subsidies.

Canada The summit also agreed to allocate $200 billion annually for conservation purposes. biodiversity This includes transferring $30 billion a year from rich countries to poor countries by 2030.

The actual total for 2022 was approximately $15 billion, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

On top of that, countries have pledged nearly $400 million to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), which was created last year to meet UN targets.

In Cali, negotiators were largely split between blocs of poor and rich countries as they haggled over increased financing and other commitments.

The biggest request from the summit – the preparation of a detailed financing plan – turned out to be a bridge too far.

Colombian Environment Minister Muhamad proposed a draft text proposing the creation of a special biodiversity fund, but this proposal was rejected by the Commission. European Union, Switzerland And Japan.

Developing countries insisted on the creation of a special biodiversity fund, saying they were under-represented in existing mechanisms, including the GBFF, and that this was too burdensome.

‘The clock is ticking’

The meeting managed to coalesce around creating a fund to share profits from digitally sequenced genetic data from plants and animals with the communities they come from.

Such data, mostly from species found in poor countries, is used primarily in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics that can make billions for their developers, and very little of it flows back.

Delegates also approved the creation of a permanent body to represent the interests of Indigenous people. UNConvention on Biological Diversity.

Read morePermanent body for Indigenous representation agreed at COP16 biodiversity summit

representatives indigenous peoplesMany in traditional dress and hats chanted and chanted as the agreement was signed.

But talks on biodiversity financing have failed despite new research coinciding with COP16 showing more than a quarter of plants and animals assessed are at risk of extinction.

It is estimated that only 17.6 percent of land and inland waters and 8.4 percent of ocean and coastal areas are protected and preserved.

UN chief Antonio GuterresTrump, who stayed in Cali for two days with five heads of state and dozens of ministers to build momentum for the talks, reminded delegates that humanity has already altered three-quarters of the Earth’s land surface and two-thirds of its water.

“The clock is ticking. The survival of our planet’s biodiversity and our own survival are at stake,” he said.

The meeting was held amid a major security deployment following threats from a Colombian guerrilla group with a base of operations near Cali. No incidents were reported.

(AFP)