The 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) is set to take place this year in Cali, Colombia from 21st October – 1st November 2024. The conference is the first implementation COP of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) since its adoption in December 2022 and will be an important time to endorse the Monitoring Framework of the GBF.
To prepare for this conference, twelve Pacific Island countries came together for the Pacific Region Preparatory Meeting for CBD COP16, held 9-14 September 2024 in Apia, Samoa. The meeting was organized by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), in collaboration with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Funding support was provided through the European Union-funded Third Phase on Capacity Building Project on Multilateral Environmental Agreements in African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACPMEA Phase 3) and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
In his opening remarks, Director General of SPREP, Mr. Sefanaia Nawadra highlighted the
importance of mainstreaming biodiversity outside of our silos, “One of the challenges for those of us in biodiversity is taking it outside our circle and engaging with those outside”. Nawadra noted that the high level political will is behind us (referring to the 2050 Blue Pacific Strategy) but we now need to work on the mechanics of implementing.
Minister for Natural Resources and Environment of the Government of Samoa, Honourable Toelesulusulu Cedric Schuster, encouraged delegates to ensure that they have a strong presence at COP16 to take something away from Cali that they can immediately implement in their respective Pacific countries.
At the Preparatory Meeting, the Pacific countries decided on several priority agenda items of CBD COP16 to take a regional approach on. Two of those priorities will be co-led by the Cook Islands delegation – the agenda item on Marine and Coastal Biodiversity, and Island
Biodiversity; and Invasive Alien Species. Other key agenda items that were discussed at the meeting included the Monitoring, Reporting and Review of the GBF, the updating of National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans, the importance of Island Biodiversity in the COP16 agenda, and strengthening cross-sectoral engagement in biodiversity.
As there were a lot of new negotiators to the CBD, there was a session on basics of negotiations to empower new delegates to intervene at the COP. Ewan Cameron, SPREP Project Coordinator – International Climate Change Engagement, led a mock exercise on negotiating which enabled new negotiators to understand how it works at COPs.
The Cook Islands delegation to the Preparatory Meeting included the Head of Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Temarama Anguna-Kamana, MOA Communications Officer, Kuraiti Rasmussen, and NES Biodiversity Coordinator, Jessie Nicholson. Anguna-Kamana and Nicholson will be attending CBD COP16, joined by NES Director, Mr. Halatoa Fua, and NES Environmental Stewardship Manager, Elizabeth Munro.
