Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad left for Cali, Colombia, on Monday to take part in the high-level segment of the 16th Conference of Parties to the UN Biodiversity Convention (COP 16), taking place from 29 October to 1 November.

According to a statement from the environment ministry, Fouad is set to deliver Egypt’s address on behalf of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi at COP16.

The four-day event, held under the theme ‘A Call for Life’, will witness the launch of the Global Alliance for Peace with Nature.

‘There is a global anticipation for productive results from the forthcoming COP16,’ the statement quoted Fouad as saying.

She noted that the event aims to implement the global biodiversity framework and the agreements made at COP15.

Key goals include designating 30 percent of the earth’s land and sea as conservation sites by 2030, exploring available financial mechanisms, and improving access for developing countries to funding for their biodiversity conservation efforts, she explained.

The event wi
ll emphasise the significance of linking the three Rio conventions (climate, desertification, and biodiversity) which Egypt began addressing during its presidency of COP14, according to Fouad.

During COP14, President El-Sisi introduced a global initiative as one of the key decisions to reconnect these three pathways.

During COP16, Fouad will participate in several ministerial dialogues on implementing the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework (GBF) that aims to halt and reverse nature loss.

She will also take part in an official side event focused on implementing the Enhancing Nature-based Solutions for an Accelerated Climate Transformation (ENACT) initiative, which was launched during Egypt’s hosting of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in 2022.

Fouad will also participate in the high-level ministerial announcement at COP16 regarding the integration of agricultural food sectors within the Kunming-Montreal framework.

Governmen
ts are expected to review the implementation status of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at COP 16, according to the summit’s official website.

The conference will also focus on further developing the monitoring framework and enhancing resource mobilization for the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Additionally, COP 16 aims to finalize and operationalize the multilateral mechanism for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources.

Source: State Information Service Egypt