BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) 鈥� Global environmental leaders gathered Monday in Cali, Colombia to assess the world鈥檚 plummeting biodiversity levels and commitments by countries to protect plants, animals and critical habitats.
The two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP16, is a follow-up to the 2022 Montreal meetings where 196 countries .
The accord includes 23 measures to halt and reverse nature loss, including putting 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030.
In opening remarks on Sunday, Colombia's environment minister and COP16 president Susana Muhamad said the conference is an opportunity 鈥渢o collect the experience that has passed through this planet from all civilizations, from all cultures, from all knowledge ... to generate livable, relatively stable conditions for a new society that will be forged in the light of the crisis.鈥�
A real threat to biodiversity loss
All evidence shows dramatic decline in species abundance and distribution, said Linda Krueger, director of biodiversity at The Nature Conservancy.
鈥淎 lot of wild species have less room to live, and they鈥檙e declining in numbers,鈥� Krueger said. 鈥淎nd we also see rising extinction rates. Things that we haven鈥檛 even discovered yet are blinking out.鈥�
The world is experiencing its largest loss of life since the dinosaurs, with around 1 million plant and animal species now threatened with extinction, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
In the Amazon rainforest, threats to biodiversity include the expansion of the agricultural frontier and road networks, deforestation, forest fires and drought, says Andrew Miller, advocacy director at Amazon Watch, an organization that protects the rainforest.
鈥淵ou put all of that together and it鈥檚 a real threat to biodiversity,鈥� Miller said.
Global wildlife populations have plunged on average by 73% in 50 years, according to the WWF and the Zoological Society of London biennial Living Planet report this month.
The report said Latin America and the Caribbean saw 95% average declines in recorded wildlife populations.
Indigenous communities key to biodiversity protection
As COP16's host country, Colombia has encouraged participation by the nation鈥檚 Indigenous groups and Afro-descendants, whom the government considers key to its goal of reversing the loss of biodiversity. Nearly 2,000 Indigenous people from southwestern Colombia arrived in Cali on Monday to raise their voices in favor of pro-environmental causes.
鈥淲e cannot continue to advance on a discourse of biodiversity if we do not translate it to actions,鈥� Jhoe Sauca, senior counselor of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca, said during a large gathering of Indigenous peoples in a Cali park.
Earlier Monday, Colombia environment minister Muhamad, told conference attendees that stakeholders must recognize the 鈥減olitical power鈥� of Indigenous peoples and local communities, who can champion solutions to the biodiversity crisis.
Indigenous peoples hold the solutions to combat the climate change and biodiversity crises, said Laura Rico, campaign director at Avaaz, a global activism nonprofit.
鈥淭hey're who have been taking care of the land, healing the land through their governance systems, their care systems and their ways of life,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o ... it's fundamental that the COP recognizes, promotes and encourages the legalization of their territories.鈥�
In Colombia鈥檚 capital, Bogota, the head of an Amazon Indigenous organization said the region's Indigenous people have been preparing for months for COP16.
鈥淭his is a great opportunity to make the impact that we need to demonstrate to all the actors that come from other countries the importance of Indigenous peoples for the world,鈥� said Jos茅 Mendez, secretary of the National Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon.
鈥淚t's no secret to anyone that we ... are at risk right now,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he effects that we are currently experiencing due to climate change, the droughts that the country is experiencing, the Amazon River has never gone through a drought like the current one. 鈥� This is causing many species to become extinct.鈥�
Nature can recover
Environment minister Muhamad told local media this month that one of the conference's main objectives is to deliver the message that 鈥渂iodiversity is as important, complementary and indispensable as the energy transition and decarbonization.鈥�
Part of Colombia's first ever leftist government, Muhamad cautioned last year's World Economic Forum about the risks of continuing an extractive economy that ignores the social and environmental consequences of natural resource exploitation.
Since the 2022 Montreal conference, 鈥減rogress has been too slow鈥�, says Eva Zabey, executive director of the coalition Business for Nature.
鈥淭here's been some progress," she said. 鈥淏ut the headline message is the implementation of the global biodiversity framework is too slow and we need to scale and speed up.鈥�
鈥淐OP16 comes at an absolutely critical moment for us to move from targets setting to real actions on the ground,鈥� Zabey said.
Although biodiversity declines are grim, some environmentalists believe a reversal is possible. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had some very successful species reintroductions and we鈥檝e saved species when we really focus on what is causing their decline,鈥� said The Nature Conservancy's Krueger.
Associated Press reporter Astrid Su谩rez contributed from Bogota, Colombia
__
Follow Steven Grattan on X:
__
The Associated Press鈥� climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP鈥檚 for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at .
Steven Grattan, The Associated Press
