Photo credit: United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
Recognising and integrating wild animals, rewilding and indigenous people’s political power in the Convention on Biological Diversity. The international policy community accepts the link between nature and climate.
For two weeks In October 2024, tens of thousands of people convened in Colombia to take steps towards creating a world in which we make peace with nature, and consolidate this vision into actionable targets, policies and tools. We are delighted to report that together, we largely achieved our aims of securing recognition for the central value of wild animals and rewilding in addressing the twin biodiversity-and-climate crises. This, along with the official place secured for indigenous people in future policy processes, represent significant steps forward despite some areas of frustration.
Many teams from our rewilding movement, experts from many fields – science, finance, politics, academia – and global leaders from 195 countries that have ratified the convention, gathered for the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP16) in Cali from 21 October to 1 November.
Some historic agreements were made, notably:
- underlining the intersection between biodiversity and climate,
- recognising the key role of wild animals,
- and the critical leadership of indigenous peoples.
Our team from the Global Rewilding Alliance met a plethora of alliance partners in person, connected with new rewilders thus expanding our movement further, and came away inspired and energised with a clear impression: governments are waking up to the crucial message that we must partner with nature.
Photo credit: United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity gets stronger: 3 key successes
The results at COP 16 are important strides towards achievement of the 23 targets for 2030 laid out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted at the previous meeting of the Convention’s 196 Parties in Montreal in 2022.
Climate and biodiversity can no longer be treated as independent issues if either crisis is to be resolved – a sentiment that was seemingly unanimous at the global event.
In short, decisions were made on marine areas, genetic resources and indigenous peoples and the recognition of the strong interactions between the climate and biodiversity crises. The discussions ended with two areas lacking clarity: mobilisation of financial resources, and the global framework for monitoring and evaluating progress.
Let’s delve into the successes that make our hearts sing:
Bridging the climate and biodiversity agenda
In a seemingly unanimous way, it was accepted that the climate and biodiversity are interconnected, and therefore any action to address either one inherently involves the other. This is a historic step away from silo thinking and towards necessary systemic solutions for the dual biodiversity and climate crises.
The convention directly recognises that: “biodiversity loss, climate change, ocean acidification, desertification, land degradation, invasive alien species and pollution, among others, are interdependent.”
Susana Muhamad, the COP16 president and Colombia’s environment minister, has repeatedly described nature and climate as ‘two sides of the same coin’.
In action, this could mean a more unified response to the interlinked global challenges. COP16 emphasised stronger cooperation between key global agreements to help countries coordinate biodiversity and climate actions, including the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
Photo credit: Ondrej Prosicky from Getty Images
Wild animals: are we finally addressing the elephant in the room?
We have seen encouraging progress with positive wording recognising the roles of animals within ecosystems in the official decision texts. A pivotal moment and critical step in bridging the gap between biodiversity and climate policies – wild animals are key to re-animating the carbon cycle.
The convention, in recognising the nature-climate link, gave recognition to wild animal populations: “conserving and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems, inclusive of animal populations, are effective options for mitigation, adaptation and disaster risk reduction and constitute actions towards minimizing the impacts of climate change”. Now that is a sentence that packs a punch for our rewilding message!
Biodiversity, that is, the full array of wild flora and fauna, were given credit for supporting the ecosystem services that we all depend on: “the essential functional role of biodiversity in underpinning the integrity of ecosystems and ecosystem services”.
In other words, the clean air and water, healthy soils, climate regulation, disease and pest prevention, flood and drought prevention, and pollination, amongst many others, that we enjoy are thanks to functional ecosystems, including the key behaviours and presence of animals.
As the World Federation for Animals said in their analysis of the COP16, ‘recognising animals as essential stewards of ecosystems reinforces the idea that protecting them isn’t just about conservation—it’s about supporting the very processes that make our planet resilient to climate change’.
What does this look like in action? The convention itself urges countries to “identify and maximize potential synergies between biodiversity and climate actions, including by prioritizing the protection, restoration and management of ecosystems and species important for the full carbon cycle and contributing to climate change adaptation”.
Rewilding could be taking centre stage following the incorporation of sentences such as: “protecting and restoring ecological integrity contributes to addressing both climate change and biodiversity loss”. The emphasis on animal populations within the biodiversity and climate decision marks a critical step forward.
Indigenous people and communities recognised as protagonists
Under article 8J of the convention, parties agreed to establish a new permanent subsidiary body, expecting to enhance the engagement and participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in all convention processes.
The new agreement commits us to embed the knowledge and role of Indigenous Peoples and local custodians across the work of the GBF, says Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme.
The programme sets out specific tasks to ensure that indigenous peoples and local communities, and their traditional knowledge, are further embedded in the global agenda. It specifically takes into account “the diversity of values, worldviews and knowledge systems including traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities.”
The truth is, we need indigenous people and their leadership. A large portion of still (relatively) intact ecosystems is functional because it is owned and managed by indigenous peoples – a clear proof that they can by and large be considered as trustworthy and beneficial managers of land and sea.
Photo credit: United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
Critical funding & criticism
Despite these historic wins, many people are left dismayed by the conference coming to an end without a broader finance agreement, after running into overtime. The Financial Times notes that there are still ‘concerns as to the governance and monitoring systems in place to hold nations accountable to their pledges for the total finance for nature protection and restoration’, referring to the $200bn a year by 2030 agreed in Montreal.
However, eight governments pledged an additional $163 million to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) during the event, providing new targeted support to countries and communities working to conserve, restore, and ensure the long-term health of wild species and ecosystems. 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 GBF.
Also, Parties agreed on a now operative separate fund to receive corporate payments for the use of genetic data from nature (a contentious issue). Companies now pay a share of their income from products benefitting from open-source data and now have to contribute 0.1% of their revenue or 1% of their profit.
The ‘COP of the People’
For the first time in a CBD COP, a Green Zone was established, constituting an open fair for biodiversity and attracting around 40,000 people daily, making this truly a “people’s COP”.
Beyond the UN ‘bubble’, where only accredited delegations meet, hundreds of thousands of residents also had the feeling of having participated in the COP by going to the vast space for discussions and exhibitions all centred on ‘Making Peace with Nature’.
The Global Rewilding Alliance & friends: uplifted, energised and inspired.
Our team of 5 from the GRA – Chair Mark Halle, Board member Reem AlMaella, Prof Os Schmitz of Yale University, GRA MD Karl Wagner and Asst Director of Communications May Scott joined many rewilders from our network on the ground in Cali; it was truly a celebration of friendship and collaboration.
We shared many cups of coffee while comparing stories from the endless hours dedicated to influencing the wording agreed on in the working groups, to the rewilding of swathes of land and sea: leopard corridors in Colombia, vast wetlands in Canada, seagrass and herds of dugongs in Bahrain, entire islands in the Pacific and Caribbean, endemic mountainous species in Kyrgyzstan and many more.
Some particular highlights, and further sources of COP16 joy, include:
- Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative wins the Earthshot Prize, having started the process of rewilding the grassland steppe in Kazakhstan and the Saiga antelope.
- International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) launches policy guidelines on how to incorporate wildlife into achieving their ‘nationally determined contributions’ for their climate commitments.
- IUCN launches the Global Species Action Plan, emphasising the critical role of species in ecosystem stability, human livelihoods, and cultural heritage.
- Bat Conservation International held an uplifting event that underlined the participation and support of local communities as the key to success in biodiversity conservation, and a reminder that key species are crucial for fulfilling NDCs and NBSAPs.
Our collaborative side events across two days welcomed full rooms and energetic contributions from two country delegates: Zimbabwe and Chile. It was clear that these official delegates fully understood that bringing back wild animals will be essential for mitigating climate change due to their role in making ecosystems functional again. One of them added: ‘The evidence that has been shown today underlines that there are already existing solutions, some of which have been around for billions of years!’. Please take a look at the presentation here: Wild animals – unsung heroes of carbon storage, ecosystem services and nature restoration.
As Karl Wagner, our Managing Director, reflects on COP16, he adds “”The Global Rewilding Alliance together with many partners and allies from around the world are working since 3 years to get policymakers to understand and recognise the crucial role of wild animals as missing link between biodiversity and climate and we finally start to see real momentum.”
Hopeful for a world in which we make peace with nature
Today, the interconnectedness of socio-economic stability, climate resilience, and biodiversity rings louder than ever. To capture the momentum from COP16, it will be necessary to unite efforts between nations, communities, and businesses to create actionable solutions.
With all eyes on the future, there is hope yet for a stable, prosperous and nature-filled future that can only be built on a positive narrative. The conversations begun at COP16 could pave the way for renewed commitments to nature, simultaneously driving forward urgent action across the board on every continent.
Photo credit: The Global Rewilding Alliance