Not long ago, I wrote one of these weekly newsletters about COP (the Conference of Parties of the United Nations), in which leaders from nearly every country in the world work collectively, through a process of annual meetings held in different host countries, to seek global agreements to solve the global climate crisis.
There is also a COP focused on the global crisis in nature, the UN Biodiversity Conference (known as BioCOP), which convened in Cali, Colombia, on Oct 21 and is in the final days of negotiations as I write these reflections.
Along with Project Dandelion Executive Director Ronda Carnegie, I attended BioCOP, and wanted to share, in brief, what I would describe generally as a learning journey that gave the both of us a clearer understanding of the fact that there can be no solution to the climate crisis without solutions to the nature crisis.
Just as weather catastrophes have made the climate crisis undeniable, increasing the numbers of people everywhere who are alarmed and looking for ways to become part of the solutions, the nature crisis is also undeniable when we consider just a few observations that are visible in our natural ecosystems.
Our rivers and oceans are polluted in many places by illegal mining, fracking, industrial run-off, and of course, plastic. There are more plastic microparticles in our water systems than fish! Forests, which capture carbon and supply much of our life sustaining oxygen, have been decimated in many parts of the world. And lastly the biodiversity of all living things is in dramatic and dangerous decline. Scientists say the extinction rate for the estimated 10 million species on Earth is currently 1,000 times what it would have been if humans didn't exist.
At present, everything in nature, everywhere, is out of balance, and since nature underpins the global economy and sustains life, it is clearly out of balance when “half of the annual expenditures of the global GDP continues to be spent destroying nature,” as Hari Balasubramanian, founder of the Certified B Corporation, EcoAdvisors, pointed out. Nature is our most fundamental asset to life and livelihoods!
Surprised? So was I, by much of the information shared at the BioCOP, beginning with the fact that Colombia is one of the world’s 17 “megadiverse” countries, hosting close to 10% of the planet’s biodiversity. It ranks first in bird and orchid species diversity and second in plants, butterflies, freshwater fishes and amphibians.
At the last BioCOP, more than 200 countries signed the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which aims to slow down the extinction rate tenfold by 2050. “The final wording commits governments to conserving nearly a third of Earth for nature by 2030 while respecting indigenous and traditional territories in the expansion of new protected areas,” reports the Guardian.
We don’t know yet what the agreement from this BioCOP will be as the ministerial negotiations are still underway as I write this, but there was a strong sense of optimism, always balanced by reports from frontline communities. Several scientific studies have shown that Indigenous peoples are the best stewards of nature, representing 5% of humanity but protecting 80% of Earth’s biodiversity…and their knowledge and experience is necessary for just and sustainable solutions.
Many Indigenous leaders made powerful presentations in Cali, explaining why all solutions being considered must begin with deep listening to the people who have lived in harmony with nature and with the establishment of new levels of trust between Indigenous peoples and the businesses that have extracted and destroyed. Also necessary is a recognition of the need for new funding. Currently, less than 2% of climate funding goes to nature solutions.
Thousands of Indigenous leaders, and environmental, climate and nature advocates and activists showed up in Cali. Mayor Alejandro Eder and the organizing committee, led by Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad, were committed to making this the most inclusive COP ever — calling it the “People's COP” — by opening up the Green Zone to the public. More than 150,000 people of all ages from all over Colombia visited the exhibitions in the Green Zone. It was clear from our time there that a new level of understanding of the intersectionality of nature’s wellbeing with the wellbeing of the planet and all its people was being communicated and hopefully, better understood.
Being new to the role of climate activists, Ronda and I decided early on to make this a learning journey. It began with an all-day visit to the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT campus, where more than 900 scientists and researchers are working to identify pathways to restore biodiversity and to make food systems more sustainable, efficient and inclusive, through research-based solutions and inclusive knowledge generation. We learned about the various innovations they are working on to capture methane, to strengthen the essential crops of rice and cassava, and to quite literally protect the world’s seeds!
I never thought I could get so excited about a seed bank, but we were wowed by our visit to CIAT's beautiful LEED Platinum certified building, which houses one of 11 seed banks around the world (and the Future Seeds program funded by the Bezos Earth Fund), overseen by CGIAR, a global partnership that promotes food security. As the Financial Times reported, it's “a treasure trove of biodiversity, housing 38,000 different types of bean, 6,000 varieties of cassava, and 23,000 tropical forages.”
Think about this: There are seeds that survived the genocide in Rwanda and helped farmers reclaim many important species for Rwanda’s food supplies to recover. We saw seeds that survived civil wars, drought, and destructive climate catastrophes — seeds with essential genetic knowledge to solve the food insecurity already expanding rapidly around the world.
I could go on and on about our excitement at seeing and understanding the role that biodiversity plays in keeping soil healthy and consequently, animals and people healthy! If you are ever in Cali, try to arrange a visit to this beautiful and critically important institution.
Our other favorite venue was the perfectly named Nature House where we participated in thought provoking conversations about nature and innovative new ideas for funding solutions surfaced during the many convenings curated by the Nature House partners, among whom were EarthRise Studio, Nature2, and The B Team.
Dandelions Wanjira Mathai (World Resources Institute) and Hindou Ibrahim (Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad) in a presentation at Nature House; Meeting with Sonia Guajajara, Minister of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil.
In one especially inspiring session, perspectives on women and water created an even deeper appreciation for the women who are leading the frontline actions to protect our rivers and oceans, so essential to all life on planet Earth. We kicked off our shoes, sat in circles, and listened to the sounds of water and nature as we learned more about the threats to the oceans and rivers. In this and other sessions, the powerful ideas shared reminded us that art, culture, music, poetry are the pathway for many to become more engaged and active for nature and climate solutions.
Congrats to Gail Gallie, Dr. Brad Irwin and team at Nature House for creating exactly the right inspiring environment for the informative and inspiring conversations with some of the world’s leading activists, scientists, impact investors, corporate leaders, poets and philanthropists. We left each session with gratitude for the learning, the community, the fabulous food..and yes, the dancing…always important for restoring the spirit for the challenges ahead.
The executive president of CAF, Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, Sergio Díaz-Granados, and the Mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder, signed the city's adhesion to the Biodiverciudades Network, which promotes biodiversity conservation as a central part of planning, land use, and socioeconomic development of cities.
There will be challenges to unlocking the finances needed for the ideas and innovations put forward. Also needed will be courageous leaders in business, government, philanthropy, willing to take the risks, to make new kinds of partnerships and try new ways to share value and think long term about what’s at stake.
That was made exceedingly clear to us in a meeting we were privileged to have with Cali's Mayor Eder, who explained with great clarity and passion the many ways that the illegal economies (which includes the cocaine trade) and Cali’s positioning on the migration route from other Latin American countries to the US have contributed to the great loss of biodiversity. He is committed to restoring a portion of the national forests destroyed by migration and he has already begun to shut down illegal mining operations that have displaced Indigenous communities, costing lives and livelihoods. In the declaration he initiated and signed, Mayor Eder represents a new generation of Colombian leaders committed to preserving the natural resources critical to the future for Cali, for Colombia, and indeed, the world.
We also had the opportunity to meet with Brazil’s Indigenous leaders to continue planning activities between this BioCOP and COP30 next November in Brazil. Project Dandelion will be partnering with many of these leaders as we continue the work of unifying doers and frontline leaders to amplify their work through storytelling and actions, in order to mobilize 2 billion people to create a new level of public pressure to ensure that leaders take the actions necessary to secure our children's future.
I hope you will follow the reports that will be emerging from this important BioCOP negotiation which will be followed later this month by COP29 in Azerbaijan. While there is skepticism about another climate conference in an oil state with a bad human rights record, we need to pay attention to country reports on their progress on the targets set in the Paris Agreement that will be measured in preparation for COP30 in Brazil.
Project Dandelion will be there, and from now until the critical convening in Brazil, we will be working together with more than 200 partner organizations to unify women leaders and to amplify stories of hope and action by centering women’s leadership as the intervention needed to protect and preserve Mother Nature. Follow Project Dandelion on social media to get updates on how well this BioCOP stepped up to the challenge.
Onward!
- Pat
