What is happening during this conference?

The Conference encompasses the Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16), the Eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and the Fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization. It will include a high-level ministerial segment.

What is the focus area of the COP 16?

COP 16 will be the first Biodiversity COP since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at COP 15 in December 2022 in Montreal, Canada.

At COP 16, governments will be tasked with reviewing the state of implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Parties to the Convention are expected to show the alignment of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) with the Framework. COP 16 will further develop the monitoring framework and advance resource mobilization for the Global Biodiversity Framework. Among other tasks, COP 16 is also due to finalize and operationalize the multilateral mechanism on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources.

What steps were previously taken?

Canada was the last country to host the Biodiversity Summit, in December 2022, along with China, who, as the COP 15 Presidency, chaired the meeting. COP15 ended with a historic agreement to guide global action for nature towards 2030 following the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This plan includes concrete actions to halt and reverse the loss of nature, including protecting 30% of the planet and restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems.

Visit the COP 16 Colombia website to learn more and look for the #COP16 on your favorite social media for updates!