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Indigenous peoples and people of African origin received a lot of attention during COP16. Photo: opening ceremony on 20 October 2024 (© UN Biodiversity).
The COP16 on biodiversity has been able to present some notable outcomes, such as the closer involvement of indigenous peoples and regulation to ensure the fair use of genetic resources. Due to lack of time and quorum, however, no agreement was reached on mobilising the necessary resources. We are now looking ahead to a subsequent conference in Rome on 25 February 2025 to clear all of those issues up.
At the time of writing – 18 November 2024 – all eyes are on the climate summit in Baku. Climate is – for many, at least – a hot topic. But did you know that the UN invariably speaks of a triple planetary crisis? Besides the climate, the situation regarding both biodiversity and pollution has reached a dramatic state.
A sharp decline in animal populations
A recent report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) made it abundantly clear: between 1970 and 2020, average wildlife populations declined by 73% on average. No fewer than 5,495 species of amphibians, birds, fish, mammals and reptiles were measured when drawing up the report. Crucial ecosystems, such as the Amazon forest and coral reefs, are now reaching a tipping point. Once that point has been passed, it will become almost impossible to restore the loss of biodiversity in those habitats.
The interesting thing is that solutions to the three crises – climate, biodiversity and pollution – can reinforce each other, or at least that is the goal. If we take great care of our forests, we can immediately store more carbon, thereby tempering climate disruption. If we succeed in curbing plastic pollution, it will certainly represent positive news for biodiversity on land and in the oceans.
COP16 achieves remarkable progress
At the end of last year, we were able to announce an ‘unexpectedly ambitious UN Biodiversity Framework’. That was the hopeful outcome of the 15th COP of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The most prominent decision stated that at least 30% of all land and oceans must be protected by 2030. The remaining 70% must also be used as sustainably as possible so that biodiversity suffers as little as possible.
But many of those decisions still needed to be made concrete. And that was the task of COP16, which took place in Cali, Colombia, from 21 October to 1 November 2024. As usual, it turned out to be an intense summit with many meetings running well into the night. The plenary session on the Friday evening continued until Saturday morning. When it was found that a large number of participating countries had already left, it was not possible to resolve some important issues. Indeed, the quorum required in order to do that was no longer met.
The press coverage of the final outcome sounded quite negative in many cases, but that doesn't alter the fact that remarkable progress was made with regard to some items on the agenda. We have summarised the most important outcomes below. Items that were not completed will be discussed again next year.
Belgium and our FPS at COP16
Belgium has a very active delegation during the biodiversity summits. It is made up of a mixed team with staff from the FPS Environment, the FPS Foreign Affairs, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and from the Flemish and Walloon governments.
The Belgian experts worked together smoothly and were able to have a significant impact on the EU position, not least because they were represented in all the EU expert groups. By the way, our country has – at their request – provided significant support to the Hungarian EU presidency, thereby building on the preparatory work carried out during the Belgian EU presidency.
The Belgians negotiated on behalf of the EU on numerous topics such as digital sequence information, mainstreaming, capacity building and synthetic biology (see text). Our FPS colleague Annemie Van der Avort negotiated the guidelines from the COP to the Global Environment Facility (see text). The head of the Belgian delegation, Ines Verleye, co-chaired negotiations on resource mobilisation, which was one of the agenda items that suffered a delay. And since no minister was present, Ambassador Koen Lenaerts – from our embassy in Bogota – represented Belgium at high-level events.
Belgium was not yet able to present a finished national biodiversity plan, but that did not diminish its views or its active participation. The plan experienced a slight delay due to a discussion about the proper definition of ‘nature-based solutions’. But if normal timings apply, our national biodiversity plan will be approved on 26 November.
During COP16, our country even became a member of the Mainstreaming Champions (see text). It also campaigned to host the secretariat of the BBNJ Agreement (Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction).

The Belgian negotiating delegation at COP16.
Here are just a few of the results:
- Fair use of genetic resources
Companies will be encouraged to deposit 1% of their profits or 0.1% of their sales – depending on their size – into the "Cali Fund" if they use ‘digital sequence information’. That is genetic coding derived from organisms which – in very many cases – are found in poorer countries. An example of those would be sponges, which have yielded a cure for leukaemia or an antiviral for herpes.
The payments are thought to be capable of generating some $1 billion annually. The money is flowing to projects that support biodiversity; half of it ends up being used to benefit indigenous peoples and local communities. Although the contributions are voluntary, the scheme exerts significant pressure on companies, such as pharmaceuticals companies, cosmetics, food, agribusiness... – to make them. After all, they want to be spared the possibility of legal proceedings for the improper use of genetic information.
On the other hand, this arrangement allows the private sector to easily demonstrate that they are in compliance with their obligations under the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, part of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
- Participation of indigenous communities
Indigenous communities are becoming more closely involved in UN decision-making on biodiversity. While initially there was only an informal working group, they will now have a permanent consultative body. Indigenous peoples play a crucial role as guardians of biodiversity.
COP16 also granted recognition to people of African origin and their contribution towards the UN Biodiversity Framework. That point was especially important for Colombia and Brazil, as those countries are biodiversity hotspots where many people of African origin live.
- Better protection of marine areas
COP16 approved new procedures to identify ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs), in addition to criteria for the establishment of new protected areas. These so-called EBSAs are important to complement the High Seas Treaty, also known as the UN Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction. They will also play a role during international discussions on deep-sea mining under the International Seabed Authority.
- Belgium becomes a champion of mainstreaming
As long as all sectors do not take into account their impact on biodiversity, adequately protecting it will remain difficult. In the jargon, we speak of mainstreaming: the whole of government and the whole of society must have biodiversity on their radar in all activities they undertake. Sectors to which this is of relevance include the industrial sector (production processes), agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, energy, mining, infrastructure, transportation, health... This therefore involves the way we eat, drink, dress, heat, move, produce and so on.
During COP16 – and at the initiative of Colombia and Mexico – our country therefore became a member of a group of Mainstreaming Champions. Together, the group's members want to increase awareness of biodiversity and ensure that the efforts to maintain it are widely adopted. Other champions include Germany, South Africa, Costa Rica, Georgia, Zambia and Peru.
- Action plan for biodiversity and health (that recognises the link between the two)
- Synergies with the Paris Climate Agreement

Impression of the closing plenary session of the COP16. From left to right: COP secretary David Cooper, COP chairwoman Susana Muhamad and top woman of the Convention on Biodiversity Astrid Schomaker (© UN Biodiversity).
Suspended topics
- Mobilisation of resources
This prominent item was delayed because an insufficient number of countries were present at the end – during an extension. There was also too little time to thoroughly discuss the compromise text put forward by Colombia in its capacity as COP President.
This so-called resource mobilisation involves an amount of around 200 billion euros that has yet to be found in order to support the UN Biodiversity Framework by 2030. Public money can only provide 10% of that amount. Rich countries should provide $20 billion by 2025 and $30 billion by 2030 to fund international investment for the purpose of protecting biodiversity in developing countries. To achieve the remaining amount, we will be counting on private funding, mobilising domestic resources and novel initiatives, such as green bonds and payment for ecosystem services.
The disagreement revolved mainly around whether or not to set up a new fund. African countries and Brazil, amongst others, preferred to create a new fund to house the money. But rich countries – and certainly the EU – believed that an additional fund could cause fragmentation. More funds does not necessarily mean more funding!
Moreover, COP15 had already established an additional Global Biodiversity Framework Fund within the already existing and well-functioning Global Environment Facility (GEF), which is THE global financing instrument for all things environmental. The EU is primarily interested in strengthening existing instruments and is certainly open to seeing where improvements can be made.
The compromise text certainly had merit, but the EU, Japan, Norway and Switzerland took the view that half an hour was too short a time in which to approve the text without consulting their governments. Because too few countries were present at that time to hold a valid vote, the conference was suspended. On February 2025 there will be a follow-up conference in Rome in order to clarify things once and for all.
- Guidelines for the GEF
For more than 30 years, the GEF has been the global funding instrument for all things environmental. Each COP formulates new guidelines in order to improve the way in which the GEF operates. A balanced text was negotiated, but final approval was not forthcoming due to a lack of time and the lack of a quorum.
- A framework and mechanisms for planning, monitoring and reporting
COP15 promised clearer mechanisms for the purpose of following up on the new Biodiversity Framework and COP parties would receive support for this. Poorer countries did not want to agree to commitments regarding monitoring if there were no guarantees of support in return.
In short, we certainly cannot claim that COP16 was a flop; in fact, it represented a turning point. The negotiations took place in a constructive atmosphere, even though trust between developed and developing countries in terms of funding is very fragile. Moreover, the motivation among participating countries to knit together an ambitious follow-up to the UN COP15 Biodiversity Framework was mostly high and for many topics that attempt was successful.
It is now a case of waiting for the follow-up meeting in Rome next year in order to finally clarify the funding issue. COP17 will take place in Armenia in 2026. International cooperation remains essential in order to protect our planet.
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