CBD COP 16 Food and Agriculture Pavilion

21 October - 1 November  2024  Cali, Colombia,  CBD COP 16 Food and Agriculture Pavilion.

Biodiversity is critical to building climate-resilient, sustainable food, land, and water systems. The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the governing body of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), an international treaty adopted at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992. Its objective is to establish agendas, commitments and frameworks for action to conserve biological diversity and use it sustainably, as well as to guarantee the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from the use of genetic resources.

Extracts of the programme

22/10 From commitments to actions: Making agroecosystem living labs work for the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework

This side event showcased the experience of ALLs in contrasting environments, including developed and developing countries, for the co-creation of site-specific scientific evidence in support of mainstreaming biodiversity in food, land and water systems. Using examples from North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, speakers showed how participatory agriculture and agri-food research offers a strong foundation for the operationalization of the K-M GBF. In addition to researchers, the side event also involves speakers from various sectors including business, policy, financing institutions, farmer organizations, indigenous people and local communities, women and youth, and the civil society among others.

• Rhiannon Crichton - coordinator of the CGIAR Environmental Health and Biodiversity Impact Platform. 
• Patrick Caron - Director of the Montpellier Advanced Knowledge Institute on Transitions, Chair of Agropolis International, Vice-Chair of the CGIAR System Board. 
• Marcela Quintero - Marcela Quintero is the Associate Director General, Research Strategy, and Innovation at the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). 
• Wei Zhang Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead on Ecosystem Health and Biodiversity in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit, IFPRI. She co-leads the CGIAR Research Initiative “Low-Emission Food Systems (Mitigate+) and directs the “Living Labs for People” Work Package. 
• Sélim Louafi - Deputy Director for Research and Strategy at the Centre International de Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad, Montpellier, France). 
• Karen Clark - Senior Policy Analyst in the Resilient Agriculture Policy Division at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 
• Chaturangi Wickramaratne - Researcher in Freshwater Ecology at the International Water Management Institute at its Headquarters in Sri Lanka. 
• Cargele Masso Karina Gonçalves David - co-founder of ProNobis Agroflorestal. At the local level, she is a part of the Participatory Guarantee System of the Ecovida Network. 
• Luis Jerónimo Pulido Arredondo - agronomist in Colombia. Peter Goodman - Senior Agriculture Economist in the Global Engagement Unit of the World Bank Global Department for Agriculture and Food. He is currently leading the preparation of the World Bank 2025 Biodiversity in Agriculture Flagship Report, in close collaboration with CGIAR. 
• Frédéric Castell - Senior Natural Resources Officer at the Office of Climate, Biodiversity and Environment (OCB) at FAO.

25/10 Harnessing agroecology, agrobiodiversity and family farming to transform food systems and halt biodiversity loss

This session will explore policies and financing to promote agrobiodiversity through agroecology and family farming, crucial for achieving GBF Targets, NBSAPs, and integrating agrobiodiversity into Rio Conventions. It will highlight local and national practices in both the North (e.g. Switzerland) and South (e.g., Tanzania) that protect agrobiodiversity and ensure sustainable use and benefit-sharing. The event will gather international organizations, governments, family farmers, and Indigenous Peoples to discuss next steps for implementing the GBF and Rio Conventions.

• Oliver Oliveros - Coordinator of the Agroecology Coalition and head of the Coalition Secretariat as from 01 February 2023. 
• Elena Aguayo Rico leads strategies for and with family farmers on the climate and biodiversity agenda within the World Rural Forum. 
• Jonathan Mockshell - co-leads Work Package 3 of the CGIAR initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS) and contributes to the CGIAR initiative on Agroecology (AE-I) in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. 
• Luiz Vicente Facco - National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (CONTAG) in Brasília. 
• Yiching Song - member of the IPES-Food panel, a senior researcher in the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and since 2016 is program leader of the United Nations Environment Programme – International Ecosystem Management Partnership in the Chinese Academy of Science. She is also founder and adviser of the China’s Farmers’ Seed Network. 
• Anna Augustine Moshi - Agroecology Focal Person at the Ministry of Agriculture Tanzania under Environment Management Unit. 
• Alejandro Argumedo - Director of the Association ANDES, a Cusco-based indigenous people’s non-governmental organization working to protect and develop Andean biological and cultural diversity and the rights of indigenous peoples of Peru. 
• Vincent Peyraud - young Swiss student who joined the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture as an academic trainee

27/10 Launch of Guidance tool "Boosting NBSAPs through Agroecology"

• This practical tool supports countries in integrating agroecological principles and practices into their respective National Biodiversity Strategies and Actions Plans (NBSAPs). 

30/10 Biodiversity for nutrition and health through Agroecology

This side event will tackle how, through agroecology, agrobiodiversity can be sustainably managed and used while promoting nutrition and health. At the country-level, it will showcase how agroecology is as a crucial pathway for countries like Colombia and Brazil which are striving to meet their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans.

Resources:

Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Biovision Foundation, WWF International, Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, and the Agroecology Coalition. BoostingBiodiversity Through Agroecology: Guidance for Developing and Updating NationalBiodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. n.p.: Global Alliance for the Future of Food, 2024. # 76 pp.

• This document provides guidance for integrating agroecology and food systems into the development and implementation of National Biodiversity Strategies and Actions Plans (NBSAPs) in alignment with the KunmingMontreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). 
• The goal of this Guidance is to support implementation of the GBF at the national level while strengthening policy coherence between the GBF and international goals and targets on food systems, including Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture), and United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) national pathways to sustainable food systems. 
• In addition, this Guidance sheds light on the opportunities and challenges of coordinated national-level policy planning and implementation. Integrating agroecology into NBSAPs is an opportunity to address biodiversity while simultaneously advancing other international targets, including those related to climate change, desertification, disaster risk reduction, health, nutrition, combating hunger, and reducing poverty.

IPES-Food released two new briefings for decision-makers and key actors attending international negotiations on biodiversity – the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP16 in Cali, Colombia – to highlight the dangers of green grabs and the urgent need for community-led and agroecological solutions.

DeSIRA-LIFT (2024) 

Stories of Change: Activating Agricultural Transitions to Sustainability through
Participatory Research and Co-Innovation, pp. 40

The DeSIRA Initiative is a portfolio of 80 research and innovation (R&I) projects run in over 65 countries across three continents between 2019 and 2026, supported by a European Union contribution of €340,000,000. DeSIRA aims to enhance the contribution of R&I in addressing complex issues relating to sustainability transitions and agrifood system transformation, towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in low- and middleincome countries.

One featured example is the ABRIGUE project in Meta, Caquetá, and Chocó (Colombia) regions, rich in biodiversity yet vulnerable to deforestation and socio-environmental challenges. Through agroecology and circular bioeconomy approaches, ABRIGUE is helping local communities adopt sustainable practices that promote both environmental protection and peace.

Related:

During the Convention on Biological Diversity’s sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP16), representatives from Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Québec announced new financing for the fund that supports implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

They were joined by representatives of the GBFF’s other early contributors including Canada, Japan, Luxembourg, and Spain, and from countries that have received support to date from the Global Environment Facility-hosted fund, among them Brazil, Gabon, Mexico, and Fiji, plus representatives of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, major philanthropies, and implementing agency partners such as the World Bank.

Please see the donor governments’ joint statement for amounts pledged by country.

• The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) was established by the GEF at the request of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP15 to support implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Launched at the Seventh GEF Assembly in 2023, the fund aims to help countries strengthen national-level biodiversity management, policy, governance, and resource mobilization, including blended finance to leverage private sector financing. 
• The GBFF can receive contributions from public, private, and philanthropic sources. 
• It has streamlined procedures to provide efficient and impactful support for developing countries towards biodiversity goals, with a target of having 20 percent of its funding to support biodiversity action led by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.