Representatives from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have joined their counterparts from across the globe for the two-week Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Biodiversity Convention (COP16 ) now underway in Cali, Colombia. COP16 sessions began on Monday, 21 October.

Discussions at COP16 will centre on how to accelerate the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in an effort to halt biodiversity loss and restore rapidly degrading lands and seas in a way that protects the planet.

Amrikha Singh, Programme Manager, Sustainable Development at the CARICOM Secretariat said the Conference is a pivotal meeting for the Region. She pointed to the support for the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by the Region and the role it plays in enhancing our Region's resilience. There will be an assessment of the actions countries have taken so far to “ensure that we halt biodiversity loss and take action nationally or collectively to protect our natural resources”.

Speaking on the first day of the Conference, Ms. Singh highlighted the fact that Antigua and Barbuda, through its representative Crown Counsel Nneka Nicholas, is President of the Meeting of the Parties of the Nagoya Protocol to COP16. The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement aimed at sharing the benefits from the utilisation of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. It entered into force on 12 October 2014.

“So, we now have Antigua and Barbuda fulfilling a very important role in the COP,” she said.

Support for the  CARICOM Secretariat team's participation at COP16 is facilitated under the EU/OACPS/UNEP ACP MEAS Programme. 

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