By Dare Akogun
Colombia has selected Cali to host COP16, the Convention on Biological Diversity’s upcoming event in October and November.
President Gustavo Petro made the announcement, highlighting Cali’s natural and human diversity as well as its rich history.
“As a power of natural biodiversity and human diversity, which has a rich history, the Pacific region gives us the opportunity for Colombia to show why it is the country of beauty,” President Petro said in an announcement Tuesday.
“This is also an opportunity to heal wounds, to seal a social pact, to put the eyes of the world on the Pacific, its regions and the conflicts. This is the time for the protection of life, for ‘Peace with Nature’,” he added
The event’s official slogan, “Peace with Nature,” underscores the importance of global biodiversity protection.
Cali’s selection aims to draw attention to the Pacific region’s unique characteristics and conflicts while emphasizing the urgency of addressing biodiversity loss.
The event will feature presentations of national action plans from around 200 countries under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
A third of the population in the Pacific region is Indigenous or has African roots, and 40% of it is made up of autonomous territories or ethnic communities, the government announcement said.
As well, the Pacific has over 200 protected areas, 11 national natural parks covering almost 51,400 square kilometres, with some 1,300 species of fauna and 14,000 plant species
COP16 is set to take place from October 21 to November 1 at the Pacific Valley Events Center in Cali.
