COP 16 took place in Cali, Colombia from 21 October to 1 November 2024 with the theme “The World Takes a Critical Step to Create: Peace with Nature”.

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, Colombian President Gustavo Petro emphasized that environmental crises are intertwined, destroying ecosystems and livelihoods, threatening human health and undermining sustainable development

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres affirmed that nature is our life, and called for actions to strengthen national and international efforts towards a balanced and harmonious relationship with nature, protecting nature, conserving, restoring, sustainably using and sharing global biodiversity.

Pacific Environment (PE) participated in various events of COP16. Notably, PE co-chaired the high-level dialogue event with several NGOs and governments called “Mainstreaming biodiversity within and across sectors to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030”. Co-chairs included representatives of countries and international organizations: Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Colombia, Germany, Georgia, Kenya, the Netherlands, Peru, South Africa, the Pew Charitable Trusts, The Nature Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society, and World Wildlife Fund. At this event, countries shared their experiences in integrating Biodiversity Protection into the fields of Fisheries, Agriculture, and Forestry, among others.

Photo 2: High-level dialogue session on 31.10.2024 (PE co-chair)

On October 28, 2024, PE also had a side event meeting with Pew and the Department of Fisheries Surveillance (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam). At this event, the parties discussed opportunities for cooperation and support to develop and expand the scale of marine conservation, improve management capacity, increase community collaboration, and strengthen effectiveness of marine protected areas, towards the goal of “peace with nature”.

Following COP16, we are enthusiastic about the future of marine conservation in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia, as we take a critical step to create peace with nature.

Photo 3: The side event meeting with PE and the Vietnam Department of Fisheries Surveillance