The first day began with the official opening of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Official negotiations began today. There are 35 items that need to be negotiated during the two-week meeting. There are currently 1,498 parentheses in the body.
At the first general meeting, Colombian Environment Minister Susana Mohamad was elected and officially assumed the position of COP16 President. The visibly happy minister was handed over the torch by China's Ecology and Environment Minister Huang Runqiu.
Runchiu is the longest-serving CBD president since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the tournament's operations. Muhammad's parting gift was a replica of the dove he made in 2016, when he signed a peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group. The sculpture created by Fernando Botero as a symbol of the peace process is called “La Paloma de la Paz'' or “The Dove of Peace.''
So far, more than 23,000 attendees have registered for the conference, and the venue is crowded. CBD Executive Director Astrid Schomaker revealed that this was the largest gathering in the CBD's history.
Many indigenous peoples and local communities attend the conference wearing traditional costumes, making it visually pleasing.
For many participants, the day began at 7 a.m., when community groups met. Four press conferences were held in the morning, and four more in the afternoon.
Plenary sessions, working group meetings, and special events were also held throughout the day. With 28 side events planned across the two slots, it wasn't so easy to choose which one to participate in.
There were also stalls and halls showcasing the efforts of organizations, political groups, countries and industries. Delegates returned to discuss the issue in four contact groups.
In terms of progress so far, 107 countries have submitted harmonized national goals. However, only 34 countries were able to finalize and submit their NBSAPs, and Colombia submitted its own NBSAP today. That's not a very encouraging number, but at least the goal is set, and Schomaker isn't worried.
As I spent the day, issues of access and benefit sharing regarding the use of digital sequence information (DSI) for genetic resources appeared to be a common thread, from the CBD Executive Director to youth groups to the IPLC. Everyone talked until then. about it. Clearly, the commissioning of the Multilateral Mechanism for Benefit Sharing and the DSI Fund will be a major milestone.
Everything about DSI seems to be controversial. I attended a side event on “Digital Sequence Information and Global Biodiversity Finance: Revenue Mobilization Options'' hosted by the International Alliance for Biological Diversity and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (part of the International Federation of Agricultural Research Centers). This will be difficult as the final document being discussed does not include suitable options.
When I discussed this with a civil society representative, he simply said that CGIAR is being loaned resources to use, but there is no need to sequence it and put it in the public domain. . Well, that's a sobering thought.
Fortunately, the mood is a little more upbeat when it comes to the issue of establishing new subsidiary bodies under Article 8(j) based on traditional knowledge. Genetic resources and traditional knowledge are both related, and over the next two weeks we will be following these two issues specifically (but not exclusively).
