COP16 Position Paper

Lawyers for Nature are excited to be attending the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16) in the city of Cali in Colombia between 21 October–1 November 2024. 

Our Position

Our aim in attending the conference is to highlight the importance of following the promises made at COP 15 and the implementation of the GBF promoting harmonious relationships with the natural world by notably promoting rights of nature approaches to protect and restore biodiversity. 

Crucially, the slogan of  COP 16 is “Peace with Nature.” This comes on the back of the statement by the UN Secretariat General highlighting that “Humanity is waging war on nature.”  As such COP 16 offers a unique opportunity to advocate for a more harmonious relationship with Nature. It is crucial that the focus is not purely on promoting and developing private/corporate-led initiatives to create a global biodiversity market. 

The potential of supporting initiatives promoting and based on respecting Nature’s intrinsic values, such as the emerging initiatives protecting the Rights of Nature should be at the heart of this journey, and not in a footnote of the targets being promoted to support biodiversity. 

Our work with Earth Law Centre

We have also been working closely with our friends at the Earth Law Centre to produce a white paper, Ecocentrism in the Global Biodiversity Framework. It is a joint report with Rights of Mother Earth, Ecocide Sweden and Keystone Species Alliance on Biodiversity Credits and how states can implement and fund rights-based initiatives and Mother Earth centric actions to better meet the goals of the GBF.