COP16 Global Negotiators Agree on $200 Bn Biodiversity Protection Plan: Why It Matters

Global negotiators agreed a funding plan at the 16th United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) after three days of intense negotiations from February 25 to 27 in Rome. The negotiators finalised commitments on funds required and the institutions through which the funds will be utilised to protect world’s biodiversity, reported Associated Press.

The countries agreed on how they would contribute $200 billion a year by 2030 that was committed in principle at an earlier meeting in Montreal in October 2024. The money includes a plan to raise $20 billion in annual conservation financing for developing nations by 2025, with that number rising to $30 billion annually by 2030. They also agreed on details of the Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to protect 30% of the planet’s land and 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030, stated Associated Press.

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As per reports, the creation of the Cali Fund was also agreed upon earlier this week to create methods for industries that commercially benefit from biodiversity to contribute to its conservation.

The decision comes more than two years after a landmark deal to stop the rapid destruction of nature and protect the ecosystems and wildlife that humans depend on for food and climate regulation.

Funding Mechanism Delayed

One of the key points was finalising a mechanism to deliver funding biodiversity protection particularly to poor countries in COP16 in October 2024. Developing countries, led by Brazil and the African Group had been seeking the creation of a new fund that could better address their needs in ways they said existing financial mechanisms could not fulfill.

Although the new decision does not specify a new finance mechanism, it outlines a path to decide on institutions that will deliver funding in the coming years, reported DW.

Biodiversity is a crucial link to maintain the health of the planet, along with sustaining human life. As more than 75% of global food crops rely in pollinators in the form of insects and other species and around half of modern medicines are derived from natural resources, according to World Health Organization.

With human activities like deforestation, agricultural practices and pollution are causing an environmental decline, experts say that the natural world could be reaching tipping points linked to irreversible and catastrophic impacts for people and nature, as per a study published in the journal The Science Behind the Climate Emergency.

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