Preserving biodiversity

The 16th biodiversity conference "Conference of the Parties" (COP16) is taking place in Cali in Colombia between 21 October and 1 November 2024. The motto of the event is "Peace with Nature" (Paz con la Naturaleza). It is held in one of the world's areas with the greatest biodiversity and completely different habitats, such as the Andes, the Amazonas lowlands, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Colombia is considered a biodiversity hotspot. This means that it is a region with a great number of endemic plant and animal species that do not exist anywhere else. 

Who takes part in COP16? 

The conference is attended by the 196 states that are contracting parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Representatives of business, academia and the civil society will also take part in the event. The latter group includes non-governmental organisations (NGOs), indigenous people and local communities. The CBD is the most important multilateral agreement for the preservation of biodiversity on earth. There are only four states, including the USA, that have not ratified the document to date. These are attending the conference in Cali as observers.

Why is biodiversity important?

Food, building materials, energy, pharmaceuticals – all of this comes from nature and is therefore vital for human survival. Scientists talk in this context of ecosystem services. They include not only things we take directly from nature, such as the products in the aforementioned areas, but also processes such as plant pollination and the storage of carbon dioxide or the production of oxygen.

Why is the conference important?

The loss of biodiversity is extreme. According to the UN, a million species are currently at risk of extinction. The rate of extinction thus exceeds the expected natural loss of species by a factor of 100. This is posing a massive threat to human livelihoods. The consequences of losing some species are also obvious to non-experts – the fact for example that many plants will no longer be pollinated or be able to produce fruit without bees. Every species has a role to play within its own ecosystem. COP16 has therefore set itself the challenge of halting species extinction.

How important are tropical forests and nature reserves?

Tropical forests are treasure troves of biodiversity and home to roughly three quarters of all species However, they are also at extreme risk – that’s true of nearly all plant species there. Agriculture poses the biggest threat to forests. That’s why nature reserves are so important. Their use is regulated, they protect nature and give it the opportunity to recover. This applies to nature reserves worldwide, not only in the tropics.

What is Germany’s position?

Germany expressly supports the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Environment Minister Steffi Lemke described it as a historic "breakthrough". This is why Germany is among the biggest funding providers for international nature conservation. From 2025 onwards, the Federal Government plans to provide 1.5 billion euros per year for this. This is twice as much as in the past. One example of Germany's international commitment is the Legacy Landscapes Fund, which the German KfW development bank established in 2020 on behalf of the Federal Government. This fund supports protected areas in many different parts of the world. Germany also supports the European Union's efforts to preserve biodiversity. This includes, for example, the EU Nature Restoration Law that provides that 20 percent of degraded areas across the EU must be restored by 2030.