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������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� recognises the incredible leadership of the COP16 Presidency  Minister Susana Muhamad and the Peace with Nature Coalition – an urgent call for unprecedented transformation to make Peace with Nature with the contribution of all actors and sectors. We agree in putting nature at the forefront in decision-making and shifting from short-term profits to long-term sustainability.  

Notwithstanding the lack of agreement on a resource mobilisation strategy, we salute the efforts made in Cali to bridge positions and reach compromises to substantially increase financial resources from all sources for halting the loss of biodiversity. The agreement to operationalise the Cali Fund, as part of the mechanism for sharing benefits from the use of digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources, is nothing short of historic. Indeed, it is the first fund with global coverage to request private sector contributions for biodiversity.

We celebrate the landmark adoption of a new subsidiary body dedicated to Indigenous peoples and local communities, the decision on the role of Afro-descendants, and the adoption of a new Programme of Work on Article 8(j). We emphasise that the full and effective participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities in the work of the Convention, and in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), is fundamental.

After more than eight years of negotiations, ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� welcomes the significant decision regarding modalities for the modification of descriptions of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) and the description of new areas. ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� further applauds the compromise reached around synergies between the CBD and the Agreement on marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (High Seas Treaty) recently adopted.

In contrast, ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� regrets that there was no decision on the monitoring framework and review mechanisms, but through the ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Red List of Threatened Species, the Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas, and the Global Ecosystem Typology, we will continue to support countries to collect and report biodiversity data consistently and transparently.

During COP16, ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� released new data that brings home the urgency of the biodiversity crisis, while also helping track progress. The first Global Tree Assessment for the ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Red List highlights threats to tree species worldwide, with one in three threatened with extinction, and points to solutions to reverse this trend. Together with the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� also launched the Protected Planet report, which quantifies global coverage of protected and conserved areas. The report found that protected and conserved areas need to double on land and triple at sea if the world is to keep to pledges to protect 30% of the planet by 2030.

As we leave Cali, ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� recalls other important decisions that were taken here, from sustainable wildlife management to a global action plan on biodiversity and health; decisions on invasive alien species; and around communication, education, and public awareness; among others.

The  current state of our planet deserves more than wordy declarations. ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� reiterates the need to keep ambition high and step up actions to rally around our common objective of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2030. Our Union is committed.