What is a COP?
The COP, Conference of the Parties, is the supreme governing
body of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the
international legal instrument established to regulate the
conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. The
United States is a signatory to the Convention but has not
ratified it, so decisions made at COP16 will not affect the
giant of the north.
Is this the only COP that exists?
No, there are several COPs dealing with different issues. There
is the COP on Biodiversity, which will be held this year in
Colombia; the COP on Desertification, which will be held this
year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and which aims to address the loss
of productive capacity of land, a problem that mainly affects
Africa; and the COP on Climate Change, which will be held this
year in Baku, Azerbaijan, and which is the most mediatic of them
all, defining actions to face the rise in global temperatures,
and which usually brings together more than 100 presidents and
heads of state, as well as global organizations and major
companies.
What is the triple planetary crisis?
The term refers to climate change, biodiversity loss and
pollution, three global problems that experts say must be
addressed together when deciding how to deal with them. Whether
humanity can continue to inhabit the world depends on solving
these three problems, and this is being done separately at the
three environmental COPs being held.
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity is all life on Earth. It includes not only animals
and plants, but also the ecosystems that make them up, the
microscopic world with which they coexist, and the genetic
information that shapes them. A macro and micro world that has
been disappearing in recent decades, and whose loss on an
interconnected planet means the disappearance or transformation
of other levels of biodiversity.
Why is the world losing its biodiversity?
According to the Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services, conducted by IPBES in 2019, there are five direct
drivers of biodiversity loss: changes in land and sea use,
direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution and
invasive alien species. There are also indirect drivers such as
population growth, economic and technological development,
conflicts and epidemics, among others.
How is biodiversity studied in Colombia?
If you have ever heard that Colombia is the third most
biodiverse country in the world, first in the diversity of
orchids, birds and butterflies, and second in plants,
amphibians, freshwater fish, reptiles, palm trees and bats,
behind these titles and figures are numerous field and
laboratory studies carried out by biologists to identify the
species of flora and fauna that inhabit the country. Most of
them have been described from some of the 3.5 million specimens
that today rest in the 13 collections of the Natural Science
Institute (ICN), in Bogota.
How to propose solutions without neglecting the local level?
Working from the local level to reach global agreements. This is
one of the strategies proposed by experts at COP16 to build
consensus and solutions to protect biodiversity. Local
governance means identifying the needs of communities and local
contexts so that they become the axes for establishing global
solutions, understanding that we live on an interconnected
planet where ecosystems are interdependent.
What is sustainability?
According to the United Nations, it is everything that allows
"meeting the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This
organization has adopted 18 goals to improve life on the planet
by 2030. Among them are three related to biodiversity: combating
climate change and protecting marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
What is the Human Development Index?
It is an indicator created by the UNDP to measure the progress
of each country. The measure assesses three dimensions: a long
and healthy life, knowledge, and conditions for a dignified
life. The average of these areas is used to create a world
ranking that governments can use to determine their growth
strategies and request international aid.
Are insects disappearing?
Science tells us that nearly half of the world's insect species
are in decline. Studies estimate that about one-third of species
are now threatened with extinction, and another one percent are
added to the list every year. When we talk about biodiversity
loss, we often think of large animals, not these kinds of
creatures. Experts have issued alerts to draw attention to them.
What is an ecosystem?
According to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), it is
"a complex of living organisms and the abiotic environment with
which they interact in a specified location". In other words, it
is all the living and non-living things in a given space and the
biological, physical and chemical interactions between them.
What is the Belém Declaration?
It is a document signed on August 8, 2023, in the city of Belém,
Brazil, at the end of the Summit of Amazonian Nations organized
by the Pact of Leticia and the Amazon Cooperation Treaty
Organization (ACTO). Its objective is to strengthen cooperation
among the nations of the Amazon region for the protection of the
rainforest, sustainable development and the fight against
climate change. It was signed by Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia,
Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
How are endangered species defined?
The International Union for Conservation of Nature is
responsible for assessing the extent to which species of flora
and fauna are in danger of disappearing. They do this by
compiling data on factors such as rate of decline, population
size, geographic range, degree of population fragmentation, and
distribution.
What is the relationship between climate change and
biodiversity?
Climate change is directly related to biodiversity, because
experts say that nature is the main barrier in the fight against
rising temperatures. If we do not have dense forests, preserved
mangroves and protected wetlands, there will undoubtedly be
higher temperatures and more natural disasters.
How long will COP16 last?
In general, the summit lasts two weeks, during which four
plenary sessions are held. This year, it will take place from
October 21st to November 1st. During the first week,
negotiations begin with the official documents that have already
been prepared. Throughout the conference, there are working
groups with representatives from each of the parties, and in the
closing plenary, the final document of commitments is adopted.
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