Last October, the international community came together in the Colombian city of Cali for the 16th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD’s COP16). Over two weeks, critical debates and negotiations on the future of biological diversity restoration and protection took place there, charting the future course for policymakers, researchers, activists and indigenous communities alike. These fundamental conversations are set to continue later this month when COP16 resumes in Rome, Italy between the 25th and 27th of February 2025.

The session will take place at the headquarters of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Its primary objective will be to address points that were left unresolved when discussions in Cali were suspended. More specifically, among the agenda items in need of further attention are:

• the approval of a Resource Mobilization Strategy deployed in support of biodiversity conservation efforts that is to secure $200 billion on an annual basis by 2030;

• the finalisation of a Monitoring Framework and a Planning, Monitoring, Reporting, and Review Mechanism that would both evaluate the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in the run-up to COP17 and beyond;

• the endorsement of the Global Environment Facility’s achievements and provision of guidance regarding its future employment.

As the biodiversity community closely monitors proceedings in Rome, stay tuned for the important developments from COP16.2 in the following weeks. In the meantime, you can find out more about COP16’s outcomes so far and CO-OP4CBD’s representation at the summit here.