Featured

COP16: ‘For the first time, a UN environmental convention formally recognises Indigenous traditional knowledge’

CIVICUS discusses the recent United Nations (UN) biodiversity summit, COP16, with Viviana Figueroa, Global Technical Coordinator of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB).

The IIFB is a group of representatives of Indigenous governments, Indigenous civil society organisations and Indigenous scientists and activists who organise themselves around the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and other major international environmental meetings. It coordinates strategies, facilitates and supports the full and effective participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities and ensures their rights and contributions to nature conservation are recognised and respected in negotiations and decision-making, and in subsequent implementation.

COP16, held in Cali, Colombia in November 2024, ended without consensus on key issues such as finance, monitoring and the elimination of subsidies to harmful industries. Concerns were raised about the influence of 1,261 business lobbyists from industries such as pesticides, oil and biotechnology. While some progress was made, including the establishment of a global fund based on genetic information and greater inclusion of Indigenous peoples, the summit resulted in no agreement on funding to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Read more

Sign up for our newsletters

Our Newsletters

civicus logo white

CIVICUS is a global alliance that champions the power of civil society to create positive change.

brand x FacebookLogo YoutubeLogo InstagramLogo LinkedinLogo

 

Headquarters

25  Owl Street, 6th Floor

Johannesburg
South Africa
2092

Tel: +27 (0)11 833 5959


Fax: +27 (0)11 833 7997

UN Hub: New York

CIVICUS, c/o We Work

450 Lexington Ave

New York
NY
10017

United States

UN Hub: Geneva

11 Avenue de la Paix

Geneva

Switzerland
CH-1202

Tel: +41 (0)79 910 3428