Global Forest Coalition at CBD COP16 Real Solutions, Not False Promises

 

Global Forest Coalition at CBD COP16
Real Solutions, Not False Promises

 

From 21 October to 1 November 2024, GFC is participating in the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) in Cali, Colombia. Click on the links below to explore more and scroll down to see our main calls for this key moment for people and planet.

 

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At the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Cali, Colombia, the Global Forest Coalition (GFC) will be actively advocating for a transformative approach to biodiversity protection. As the world faces the urgent need to halt biodiversity loss, we reject market-driven and corporate-centric solutions that commodify nature and undermine the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities, women, and other marginalized groups. Instead, we champion rights-based, ecosystem-driven approaches that center the knowledge and leadership of those living in harmony with forests and ecosystems.

Our Vision: Advancing Rights-Based Solutions to Biodiversity Loss

 

GFC’s focus at COP16 is to ensure that rights-based and gender-just solutions are prioritized. We believe that protecting forests and biodiversity is not only about ecological balance but also about upholding the rights and dignity of the communities who depend on these ecosystems for their survival and cultural heritage.

We will closely monitor negotiations and strive to influence discussions and decisions based on the demands of GFC and its members. As part of these efforts, we will host press conferences, side events, and other activities, while collaborating with other allies and GFC members at additional events and actions. To follow our activities, outputs, reports, and work at COP16, please use the links above to access more information, including our reports, briefs, statements, and position papers on key issues.

In addition to our direct engagement in the negotiations in Cali, we are working in close collaboration with a broad coalition of global allies to build long-term momentum. This includes organizing meetings and activities to strengthen knowledge, coordination, capacity, and resources to resist market-based approaches to the climate and biodiversity crises that harm forests and forest peoples, and to counteract the harmful influence of transnational corporations and those responsible for serious human and environmental rights violations.

Key Demands and Areas of Focus

 

1. Urgent Action on Biodiversity Loss

Call for an immediate halt to the loss of biodiversity and forests by addressing the root drivers of destruction, such as extractivism, industrial agriculture, and monoculture plantations.

Demand that clear targets are set to limit harmful activities and hold accountable those who exploit nature at the expense of ecological and social integrity.

2. Reject Market-Based Approaches

Challenge market-driven conservation models, including biodiversity and climate offsets, credits, and nature-based solutions that prioritize profit over ecological integrity.

Advocate for non-market-based, rights-respecting solutions that put people and ecosystems first.

3. Defend Indigenous, Women, and Local Community Leadership

Ensure the full and meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, Afro-descendants, and Local Communities in all decision-making processes related to biodiversity.

Defend land and cultural rights, protect biodiversity defenders, and advocate for equitable resource access for communities on the frontlines of biodiversity protection.

4. Promote Traditional Knowledge and Agroecology

Support the recognition and use of traditional knowledge and community-led practices that have proven effective in conserving biodiversity and addressing climate change.

Promote agroecological practices that support small-scale farmers and forest communities, aligning with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP).

5. Resource Mobilization for Real Solutions

Call for legally binding commitments to mobilize public resources for biodiversity protection, with a focus on gender-responsive finance plans that support community-led solutions.

6. Eliminate Harmful Subsidies

Demand the identification and elimination of harmful subsidies that contribute to biodiversity loss and climate change, such as those for fossil fuels and industrial agriculture.

7. Respect for Governance and Protected Areas

Implement KMGBF’s Target 3 in ways that respect Indigenous and local communities’ territories, ensuring that their rights are upheld and they are not forcibly relocated, marginalized or attacked in the name of conservation.

8. Strengthen Implementation of Article 8j

Ensure full recognition and respect for traditional knowledge in biodiversity conservation, with the active participation and consent of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

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A Call to Action

 

COP 16 in Cali, Colombia, presents us with an opportunity to reaffirm our collective commitment to forest and biodiversity conservation. The voices of Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities, Afro-descendants, peasant farmers, women, children, youth, and grassroots movements must be central in shaping the policies that will govern our shared future. We call on all governments to prioritize people and the planet over profit in a way that is just and equitable, gender-responsive, rights-based, and rooted in a non-market-based approach led by real, community-led solutions.

Next year’s Climate Change conference (UNFCCC COP 30) in Belém do Pará, Brazil will be a crucial milestone in global climate action. The struggles to protect forests and biodiversity and address the climate crisis are deeply intertwined. Only by addressing the root cause of climate change and biodiversity loss can we hope to achieve a sustainable future for all.

The time to act is now. Let us stand together, amplifying the voices of those who have cared for Earth for generations and ensure that any global policy and agreement to reduce deforestation, halt biodiversity loss and address climate change is just, equitable, and transformative to usher in a sustainable future for all.

Join us in calling for real solutions, not false promises, and ensure that those who have cared for the Earth for generations are at the forefront of decision-making and action.

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