In preparation for the United Nations Biodiversity Conference that will be held in October, 2024, Indigenous Peoples and local communities from all around the planet will gather in Colombia to attend to the TRɄA World Summit on Traditional Knowledge Related to Biodiversity, a high level event organized from 26 to 29 August, 2024, in Bogotá.
The meeting will be a space for dialogue amongst 100 leaders of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs), government representatives and UN representatives to explore IPLCs’ traditional knowledge contributions to biodiversity conservation. The summit will also aim to articulate recommendations to take urgent actions to revert biodiversity loss and address other effective measures for climate change actions, in preparation for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (UNFCC-COP 29).
The United Nations Biodiversity Conference, also known as the as the Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), includes the Eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP 11), and the Fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (NP-MOP 5).
The COP 16 is expected to be a historical event for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, since in its context several substantial topics will be addressed. Among others, are the adoption of the Program of Work on Article 8(j) and related provisions and its institutional arrangements; resource mobilization and digital sequence information.
In this regard, the TRɄA World Summit on Traditional Knowledge Related to Biodiversity will contribute not only to highlight IPLC’s traditional knowledge contributions to biodiversity conservation and in addressing climate change, but also to strengthen concrete support to make the COP 16 a successful and pivotal meeting for the Indigenous Peoples and local communities of Colombia and the world.
The TRɄA World Summit on Traditional Knowledge Related to Biodiversity is organized by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) and the International Women Biodiversity Network, with the support of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, GIZ, The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SwedBio, Campaign for Nature, NiaTero, Bloomberg Philantropies and the Oregon State University. This meeting will be held under the Chatham House Rule.