By: Valeria Zapata-Giraldo, PhD researcher
The 16th edition of the UN Biodiversity Conference, held in Cali, Colombia, from October 21 to November 1, was not only a space for negotiation and agreements among parties regarding the Convention on Biological Diversity. For the first time in the history of the biodiversity COP, a parallel public space was created, called “La COP de la Gente” (The People’s COP). According to official figures, more than 900,000 people visited this space during the conference, providing an opportunity to bring visibility to the diverse communities and actors working on biodiversity conservation and land stewardship, particularly in Colombia and its neighbouring countries.
As a Colombian, I was impressed by the enormous effort and logistics deployed to host this global-scale event, likely the most significant and complex organized in the country’s recent history. The city of Cali, the third largest in population, served as the host. Known as “La Sucursal del Cielo” (The Branch of Heaven) and internationally recognized for its vibrant salsa scene, Cali is located in a valley between the Western and Central Andes mountain ranges of Colombia and enjoys warm weather year-round. It is considered the gateway to Colombia’s Pacific coast.
This year’s COP theme was “Paz con la Naturaleza” (Peace with Nature). This message aimed to recognize nature and territories as victims of conflict, extraction, and exploitation, and to promote reparations for the damages and losses they have suffered. This theme is particularly relevant in a country like Colombia, where armed conflict has persisted for over 60 years, primarily affecting rural and biodiverse areas inhabited by Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and campesino communities.
During this edition, the COP had two main spaces. One was the Blue Zone, where official negotiations took place, attended by delegates from 177 nations and 25,000 registered participants. You can read the main outcomes of this space in this blog post. The other space, the Green Zone, was located in the center of Cali. Through expositions, workshops, conferences, and artistic presentations, this area served as a showcase for initiatives led by Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and campesino communities, NGOs, local governments, and the private sector to share their daily work on biodiversity conservation and land stewardship.
Despite the ongoing divide between the official negotiation space, which was held at an events center on the outskirts of Cali, and the People’s COP, there were many noteworthy aspects of this space. Perhaps the most important was that it was open to the public without requiring official accreditation, allowing citizens to participate in the event and learn about the diverse initiatives and individuals working, especially in Colombia, on environmental protection. Each of the 12 days of the COP had a specific thematic focus, including environmental justice, communities, biodiversity and climate change, education and knowledge systems, financing and implementation mechanisms.
For me, the most inspiring aspect of this space was witnessing an unprecedented gathering of people and communities from every corner of Colombia. Biodiversity conservation served as a thread to foster a broader and deeper dialogue that the country has long needed—a historical debt of recognizing ourselves as a diverse nation, where various knowledge systems and ways of relating to the land coexist. To give a sense of this diversity, Colombia is home to 70 languages, 115 Indigenous peoples, as well as Afro-descendant, Raizal, Palenquero, and campesino communities. Recognizing their governance systems and ways of life not only contributes to biodiversity conservation but also to the stewardship of life in all its forms. It was inspiring to see so much social mobilization and the efforts of people who, despite challenges, work tirelessly to defend their territories.
One area that could have been improved was giving greater visibility to campesino communities, which represent around 30% of Colombia’s population. From my perspective, there was more emphasis on highlighting Indigenous and Afro-descendant representation. Campesinos continue to be marginalized in conservation spaces, partly due to their stigmatization as environmental destroyers and the conflict between agricultural development and biodiversity conservation.
The COP also served as a platform to shed light on the various challenges, pressures, and violence that communities and biodiversity face. The country’s most biodiverse and culturally rich areas are also the ones most affected by armed conflict, drug trafficking, deforestation, and extractive activities. Colombia remains the most dangerous country for social leaders. As one Indigenous leader summarized during a conference: “Many leaders have been killed for many reasons—illegal mining, exploitation, discrimination, for speaking differently, for having a different colour… Indigenous peoples are on the brink of extinction”. Park rangers in protected areas have also raised their voices as victims of conflict; over 300 have been threatened, and 17 have been killed to date.
The conferences and panels at the Green Zone (People’s COP) featured contributions from Indigenous, Afro-descendant and campesino communities, academics, government entities, NGOs, and social movements.
Additionally, in these spaces, I observed diverse perspectives not only on biodiversity conservation but also on the development and economic models the country should pursue. On one hand, there is the vision of the communities, as expressed by an Afro-descendant leader during one of the conferences: “In a multi-ethnic and multicultural country, we cannot impose a single vision of development. There will be as many development visions as there are cultures. For us, it’s not about economic growth but social well-being”. On the other hand, there is the perspective of the private sector and the growing markets around biodiversity, viewing it as a business opportunity through biodiversity banks, habitat banks, and carbon projects. From this viewpoint, biodiversity is seen as a pathway to economic growth.
Finally, the People’s COP was an opportunity to place environmental issues at the forefront of national discussion. Hopefully, beyond these days, these conversations will translate into lasting commitments and real actions to address environmental crises, social injustice, and the urgent need to rethink the predominant economic model.
