What is COP15?

BIODIVERSITY

The 15th UN Conference on Biological Diversity was held between December 7-19 in Montreal, Canada.

Like COP27, which was the climate conference, COP15 on biodiversity brought together the nearly 200 UN member nations. The name “COP” is an acronym for Conference of the Parties.

COP15 on Biodiversity proposes agreements between nations to guarantee the preservation of the many forms of life on the planet.

The conference focused on a threefold base of environmental solutions: conservation, sustainable use and a fair division of the benefits generated by the wide variety of living beings.

The conference was delayed and divided into three parts because of COVID-19: the first part was held in China in 2021 and the second in Canada in March 2022.

The third was held in Canada from December 7-19, when nations met again for the final phase, do define the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which will guide conservation actions until 2030.

One of the main items on the agenda was for the guarantee of the conservation of at least 30% of the world’s terrestrial and marine habitats by 2030, or the 30X30 goal

Another target was the creation of a fund worth US$ 200 billion per year to help developing nations meet conservation protocols.

What does Amazonia have to do with this? Everything.

What does Amazonia have to do with this? Everything.

Amazonia is one of the planet’s richest ecosystems, home to an estimated

10%-15% of all global diversity

Amazonia is an open-air museum, with a richness and knowledge that we still do not fully understand. New species are discovered on every environmental expedition

- Michel Santos, public policy manager at WWF-Brasil.

Destruction of the forest due to mass deforestation has led to a drop in the variety of species and damaged the ecosystem for years and even decades.

Another thing making Amazonia unique is the interaction that the people living there have had with its biodiversity for thousands of years. This knowledge must be studied, preserved and respected.

All this is related to climate issues: decisions affect greenhouse gas emissions and different nations’ socioeconomic realities. In the end, geographical boundaries exist only on maps.

REPORTING Leandro Chaves TEXT E EDITING Carolina Dantas PHOTOS UNFCCC; Valdemir Cunha/Greenpeace; Fábio Nascimento/Greenpeace; John Novis/Greenpeace; Anderson Barbosa/Greenpeace; Rogério Assis/Greenpeace; IISD/ENB. VISUAL IDENTITY Clara Borges EDITING  Luiza Toledo

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