Colombia outlines its biodiversity action plan

by María Josefina Arce

From the 21st of November, Colombia will host a world meeting of great importance for the conservation of the diversity of life that inhabits the planet. The city of Cali will host the Biodiversity Summit until November 1.

This will be the first Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity after the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biodiversity in Canada in December 2022.

At the landmark event, Colombia will present its updated Biodiversity Action Plan to advance national compliance with the four goals and 23 targets established by the Convention to reverse the current global loss of biological variability.

The government of President Gustavo Petro has been working intensively on this path, with the contribution of the entire society. The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development made the document available to Colombians on the COP 16 website.

In addition, until September 28, citizens had the opportunity to express their opinions and suggestions online to enrich the action plan.

According to the Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad, three strategic goals have been identified, based on the collective construction with different actors in the country.

Thus, five million hectares will be put under ecological restoration to contribute to the recovery of the local economy, while 34% of the national territory will be under conservation strategies.

Likewise, from 0.8% to 3% of the Gross Domestic Product will be allocated to biodiversity economic models, which will guarantee sustainable productive alternatives based on knowledge and technological innovation.

The government of President Gustavo Petro has placed environmental protection at the top of its agenda, as evidenced by the National Development Plan presented in the early months of last year and subsequently approved by Congress.

This program, for example, emphasizes the importance of preserving the wilderness, ecosystems that provide 70% of the water consumed in the country and are also home to many species of plants and animals.

Now, Colombia's Biodiversity Action Plan, under Petro's presidency, reaffirms the South American nation's commitment to protecting the diversity of life on our planet.