Biodiversity and ecosystems marinocosteros and land

The 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity was held from October 21 to November 1, 2024 in Cali, Colombia, under the slogan “Peace with nature”. This meeting had as its primary focus the implementation of the Global Framework for Biodiversity Kunming-Montreal and marked a turning point to advance in the formal inclusion of children and youth in the negotiations on biodiversity.

The 19 and 20 October 2024, was carried out in Cali the Global Summit of Childhood and Youth for Biodiversity, in the framework of the #COP16. It was a space where the voices of young people were found to build partnerships, share learnings and planting ideas for a more sustainable future, along with youth networks, local and global. From the Blue Zone and the Green Zone, connected to the local with the global, exploring Future Pluriétnicos, Reaping Life and the motto of the COP16: Peace with Nature, promoting youth participation and co-creation of solutions from the territories.

The Simulation Youth of the COP16 is a training process designed to strengthen the capacities of young people of Cali and the Valle del Cauca on issues of environmental governance and biodiversity. Through an experience that combines methodologies, virtual and face-to-face, the project recreates the dynamics of international negotiations, allowing the youth to understand the complexity, the challenges and tensions own multilateral spaces. More than a simulation, it is a space of learning, connection, and action that provides key tools for the active participation in global scenarios, bringing young people to the international agenda of biodiversity and promoting their role as agents of change compared to the current environmental challenges.

Peace with Nature was a space where the youth took the lead, heading to the #COP16. Young environmentalists, institutions, and leaders of local joined forces to face the challenges that threaten the biodiversity of the Atlantic. It was a meeting to learn, talk and act collectively, demonstrating that when we work juntxs, we can build the territory they dreamed about.

A group of 25 young people from different parts of the country involved in the Colombian Network of Youth for Biodiversity (GYBN for its acronym in English) said to the decision-makers of their priorities as young people about the care of the biodiversity is increasingly threatened by climate change, which is the most palpable of our time