Global environmental leaders gather Monday in Cali, Colombia to assess the worldB次元官网网址檚 plummeting biodiversity levels and commitments by countries to protect plants, animals and critical habitats.

The two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP16, is a follow-up to the 2022 Montreal meetings where 196 countries signed a historic global treaty to protect biodiversity.

The accord includes 23 measures to halt and reverse nature loss, including putting 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030.

B次元官网网址淲e hope that (COP16) will be an opportunity for countries to get to work and focus on implementation, monitoring and compliance mechanisms that then have to be developed in their countries and in their national plans,B次元官网网址� said Laura Rico, campaign director at Avaaz, a global activism nonprofit.

A real threat to biodiversity loss

All evidence shows dramatic decline in species abundance and distribution, said Linda Krueger, director of biodiversity at The Nature Conservancy.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of wild species have less room to live, and theyB次元官网网址檙e declining in numbers,B次元官网网址� Krueger said. B次元官网网址淎nd we also see rising extinction rates. Things that we havenB次元官网网址檛 even discovered yet are blinking out.B次元官网网址�

The world is experiencing its largest loss of life since the dinosaurs, with around 1 million plant and animal species now threatened with extinction, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.

In the Amazon rainforest, threats to biodiversity include the expansion of the agricultural frontier and road networks, deforestation, forest fires and drought, says Andrew Miller, advocacy director at Amazon Watch, an organization that protects the rainforest.

B次元官网网址淵ou put all of that together and itB次元官网网址檚 a real threat to biodiversity,B次元官网网址� Miller said.

Global wildlife populations have plunged on average by 73% in 50 years, according to the WWF and the Zoological Society of London biennial Living Planet report this month.

The report said Latin America and the Caribbean saw 95% average declines in recorded wildlife populations.

Indigenous communities key to biodiversity protection

Indigenous people are on the front lines of protecting biodiversity and fighting against climate change, putting their lives at great risk, said Miller of Amazon Watch.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of discourse has been given about the voices of local communities B次元官网网址� Indigenous peoples really playing a key role,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淪o thatB次元官网网址檚 one of the things that weB次元官网网址檒l be looking for at COP16.B次元官网网址�

Indigenous peoples hold the solutions to combat the climate change and biodiversity crises, Rico said.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e who have been taking care of the land, healing the land through their governance systems, their care systems and their ways of life,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淪o B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 fundamental that the COP recognizes, promotes and encourages the legalization of their territories.B次元官网网址�

In ColombiaB次元官网网址檚 capital, Bogota, the head of an Amazon Indigenous organization said the regionB次元官网网址檚 Indigenous people have been preparing for months for COP16.

B次元官网网址淭his is a great opportunity to make the impact that we need to demonstrate to all the actors that come from other countries the importance of Indigenous peoples for the world,B次元官网网址� said Jose Mendez, secretary of the National Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 no secret to anyone that we B次元官网网址� are at risk right now,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he effects that we are currently experiencing due to climate change, the droughts that the country is experiencing, the Amazon River has never gone through a drought like the current one. B次元官网网址� This is causing many species to become extinct.B次元官网网址�

Nature can recover

ColombiaB次元官网网址檚 environment minister Susana Muhamad, who is presiding over COP16, told local media this month that one of the conferenceB次元官网网址檚 main objectives is to deliver the message that B次元官网网址渂iodiversity is as important, complementary and indispensable as the energy transition and decarbonization.B次元官网网址�

Part of ColombiaB次元官网网址檚 first ever leftist government, Muhamad cautioned last yearB次元官网网址檚 World Economic Forum about the risks of continuing an extractive economy that ignores the social and environmental consequences of natural resource exploitation.

Since the 2022 Montreal conference, B次元官网网址減rogress has been too slowB次元官网网址�, says Eva Zabey, executive director of the coalition Business for Nature.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 been some progress,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淏ut the headline message is the implementation of the global biodiversity framework is too slow and we need to scale and speed up.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淐OP16 comes at an absolutely critical moment for us to move from targets setting to real actions on the ground,B次元官网网址� Zabey said.

Although biodiversity declines are grim, some environmentalists believe a reversal is possible. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e had some very successful species reintroductions and weB次元官网网址檝e saved species when we really focus on what is causing their decline,B次元官网网址� said The Nature ConservancyB次元官网网址檚 Krueger.