Colombia’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad, together with David Cooper, acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), have officially launched the preparations for what will be the most important event in the history of the environmental sector in the country, the COP16 on Biodiversity to be held between October 21 and November 1 this year.
The CBD delegation will work intensively with government delegates for a week to evaluate logistics, negotiations and other aspects of a large-scale event such as the COP on biodiversity. During the meeting, the minister assured that the COP16 represents an important challenge of articulation with communities, the private sector, civil society and national government entities.
The Minister of Environment of Colombia, Susana Muhamad, said: “It is a challenge for the country, to hold for the first time a summit of this magnitude, which also represents an opportunity for the country. We have decided that the slogan of this summit will be ‘’Peace with Nature’ is a people’s summit where we want the voices of those who are taking care of the biodiversity of the territories to be heard by the governments. After this visit we will define the host city, this event requires a very robust plan of joint work, not only with all state entities, but with the private sector, communities, civil society and mayors across the country, because this is the year of biodiversity in Colombia”
On his part, Cooper said: “We need the leadership of President Petro and Minister Susana Muhamad to push all actors in the world to be able to implement the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework, which was adapted in 2022. This COP16 in Colombia would be the first COP since the adoption of this global framework and we hope that countries will demonstrate that they are applying this framework and thus face the biodiversity crisis.”
This important event represents a great opportunity for Colombia, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world and one that has been recognized in Latin America for leading a robust agenda on climate action, biodiversity and the protection of life.
It has been said that biodiversity protection cannot be separated from climate action. Climate change and biodiversity loss are two of the most important elements of the triple planetary crisis.
So far, six cities in the country have expressed interest in hosting the COP. Therefore, the Colombian government, together with the convention, will carry out a rigorous analysis of the logistical requirements and feasibility of the conditions required to receive the more than 12,000 visitors that will arrive in the country for the event.
