CALI, Colombia –

After two weeks of talks, delegates at the United Nations biodiversity conference on Saturday agreed to establish a subsidiary body to include Indigenous peoples in future decisions on nature conservation; This is a significant development that builds on a growing movement to recognize the role of Indigenous peoples. protecting the land and helping fight climate change.

Delegates also recognized the obligation of large companies to share the financial benefits of research while using natural genetic resources.

Indigenous delegations burst into cheers and tears after the historic decision to create the secondary body was announced. Wildlife Conservation Society Global Program on Rights and Communities Executive Director Sushil Raj said this recognizes and protects the traditional knowledge systems of Indigenous peoples and local communities for the benefit of global and national biodiversity management.

“This strengthens representation, coordination, inclusive decision-making and creates a space for dialogue with the parties to the COP,” Raj told The Associated Press, referring to the meeting’s official name, Conference of the Parties.

There were negotiators We had a hard time finding common ground Views were exchanged on some important issues last week, but a consensus was reached after the talks continued until late on Friday.

COP16 summitThe conference, held in Cali, Colombia, was a follow-up to the historic 2022 agreement in Montreal; This agreement included 23 measures to protect Earth’s plant and animal life, including protecting 30 percent of the planet and 30 percent of degraded ecosystems. 2030.

A measure was also adopted in Cali to recognize the importance of the role of people of African descent in the conservation of nature.

Police stand guard outside a hotel in the host city of Cali, Colombia, the day before the COP16 United Nations biodiversity conference, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

The Indigenous body will be formed by two co-chairs elected by the COP: one nominated by the UN parties in the regional group, the other nominated by representatives of Indigenous peoples and local communities, the EP said in the final document.

The document stated that at least one of the co-chairs will be selected from a developing country, taking into account gender balance.

Colombian Susana Muhamad said, “With this decision, the value of the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples, people of African descent and local communities is recognized and the 26-year historical debt in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is closed.” the environment minister and COP16 president posted on social media platform X shortly after the announcement.

Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of COP16 on Sunday, October 20, 2024, in Cali, Colombia. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Who owns nature’s DNA was one of the most controversial and hotly debated issues at the summit; Tensions have escalated between poor and developed countries over digital sequence information on genetic resources (DSI).

But negotiators agreed Saturday morning that large companies should share the benefits when using resources derived from animals, plants or microorganisms in biotechnology.

The panels agreed on a genetic information fee of 0.1 percent of the revenues companies receive from products derived from such information.

“Many of the life-saving medicines we use today come from rainforests. So it’s right that part of the revenue companies make from this information should go towards protecting nature,” said Toerris Jaeger, managing director of Rainforest Foundation Norway. “This is definitely the highlight of COP16.”

Indigenous women during a protest against the creation of a reference time limit that would threaten to destroy some Indigenous lands, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Brasilia, Brazil. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

An agreement on the protection of human health was also adopted. The world’s increasing biodiversity problems. Environmental groups say ecosystem degradation and loss of ecological integrity directly threaten human and animal health.

Pledges made by countries over two weeks fell well short of the billions of dollars needed to combat the rapid decline of global biodiversity; There was only US$400 million in the fund.

The modest promises do not bode well for the next UN climate talks (COP29) in Azerbaijan later this month. The focus of COP29 is expected to be on how to generate the trillions of dollars needed for the world to transition to clean energies such as solar, wind and geothermal. Raising this money will require major commitments from nations, corporations and philanthropists.

Inside Montreal’s biodiversity summitRich countries have pledged to provide US$20 billion annually in conservation financing for developing countries by 2025; This figure will increase to 30 billion US dollars annually by 2030.

Global wildlife populations have declined by an average of 73 percent over 50 years, according to the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London’s biennial Living Planet report in October.