11 In-Person and 6 Virtual CBD Fellows Cover Biodiversity Finance and More at COP16
After the watershed adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)—a new global set of biodiversity targets—at COP15 in 2022, this year’s COP16 was the largest biodiversity summit yet. With 23,000+ in attendance, it quickly gained the moniker of “the implementation COP” representing the first opportunity for countries to establish concrete actionable steps toward fulfilling their commitments.
Despite intense corporate lobbying, negotiations that ran out the clock, a lack of quorum and postponed decision-making, COP16, held in Cali, Colombia from October 20 to November 2, did result in some breakthroughs, including the launch of a new permanent subsidiary body for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), in recognition of their role in protecting biodiversity and combating climate change, and the establishment of the “Cali Fund,” a voluntary mechanism which requires large companies seeking to make use digital sequence information (DSI) from genetic biodiversity resources to pay a levy to the fund (1% on profits or 0.1% of revenue). The fund expects to raise $1 billion yearly for biodiversity conservation, with half of that earmarked for IPLCs. The summit also saw the adoption of a "Global Action Plan for Biodiversity and Health" to address the interconnectedness between human health and biodiversity.
The impact of biodiversity loss is devastating and widespread, yet oftentimes, the import of high-level decisions negotiated at these summits do not reach the communities most affected by these catastrophic changes. To bridge this information gap, journalists need to be present at such conferences, where they can translate, contextualize and deliver crucial information to their home audiences in local languages and trusted media outlets.
As part of EJN’s Biodiversity Media Initiative project, Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Global Strategic Communications Council (GSCC) selected a cohort of fellows to cover the proceedings at COP16, this year’s United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Eleven journalists from 10 different countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America and three EJN trainers attended COP16, while six fellows from four countries in Africa and Latin America reported on key events and discussions remotely, supported by two media trainers.
Meet the in-person fellows: Covering COP16 In-Person| Earth Journalism Network
Meet the virtual fellows: Covering COP16 Virtually| Earth Journalism Network
The CBD Fellowship supports journalists from low- and middle-income countries to report on the key negotiations and decisions made at COP16 and to produce engaging, timely and relevant news for their home audiences, many of whom face the most devastating consequences from biodiversity loss.
Charlie Debenham, project manager of the COP16 fellowships, said, “This year’s CBD COP is the first to take place since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022. Given the limited success of the previous framework, the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, it is more important than ever to bring visibility to these COPs and for journalists to monitor the commitments that countries are making to tackle the biodiversity crisis.”
"Our reporting fellows provided important coverage of the proceedings for their home audiences, highlighting the successes, solutions, and the work that still needs to be done to meet biodiversity targets by 2030,” she added.
Orientation day
To kick-off the fellowship, the in-person CBD cohort took part in a one-day training led by mentors and EJN staff. Mentors Fermin Koop (EJN climate change trainer), Stella Paul (EJN project officer for environment and health) and Paritta Wangkiat (EJN Mekong program officer) offered fellows insights into the upcoming negotiations, as well as training on key biodiversity concepts. Koop led sessions on the history of CBD targets and processes, marine ecology, and benefit sharing while Paul delved into biodiversity finance, sustainable agriculture and Indigenous rights. Wangkiat also gave a comprehensive overview of the role of Indigenous people and women at the CBD, as well as how biodiversity COPs and climate COPs interact and overlap.
Side events and high-level interviews
EJN fellows had the opportunity to interview key players and decision-makers at the CBD, including Onno van den Heuvel, global manager of UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative, and Mrinalini Rai. the director of Women4Biodiversity, a network that advocates for gender equality and women's empowerment in biodiversity conservation. In-person fellows were in attendance while virtual fellows could pose questions over WhatsApp.
The fellows also met representatives from the Global Forest Coalition who gave insights and critiques on the state of negotiations. They maintained the conference was focusing on “false solutions” such as biodiversity credits, which cannot replace or replicate an ecosystem’s functions.
Fellows engaged with subject experts including Nithin Ramakrishnan, Senior Researcher at Third World Network, a non-profit that researches and advocates for sustainable development in the Global South. Ramakrishnan broke down the complex world of DSI (digital sequencing information), and gave fellows an overview of the five main sectors currently using this digital information: biotechnology, academia, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and agriculture. He also walked the fellows through the potential risks around DSI, including digital biopiracy.
“Reporting at COP 16 was a new experience every day! I learned so much about Digital Sequencing Information which I had barely known about as well as why the Aichi Targets were not well implemented,” commented fellow Sarafina Robi, a journalist from Kenya.
The @AfDB_Group & @UNEP_Africa are partnering to establish an Africa Biodiversity Finance Structure aimed at supporting African countries in accessing natural capital and biodiversity finance to implement the KMBGF @KBCChannel1 #EJNatCBD2024
https://t.co/S1649qdkG7— Sarafina (@Sarafin_robi) October 25, 2024
Learning and mentorship
Alongside the orientation day, daily briefings and interview opportunities, fellows also received group guidance and one-to-one mentorship from EJN trainers, themselves seasoned climate journalists and experts in their chosen fields. Virtual fellows received mentorship and editing support from Paritta Wangkiat and Mike Shanahan, biodiversity trainer and director of EJN’s Biodiversity Media Initiative.
William Abala, another journalist from Kenya who was among the six covering the summit remotely, said: “The EJN mentors were knowledgeable, approachable, and committed to helping us succeed. Their guidance on crafting compelling story angles and navigating the complexities of biodiversity policy was insightful and empowering. The mentors took the time to understand our individual needs and provided personalized advice, which made a significant difference in the quality of our work.”
Mentor Stella Paul noted that “unlike climate change COPs, biodiversity COPs receive little or limited media coverage. Therefore, journalists covering a biodiversity COP have a unique opportunity to bridge the existing information gap for their audiences.” She added that, CBD COPs offer solution-oriented reporting opportunities as both governments and civil society groups “share information on local biodiversity conservation efforts that are yielding positive results.”
A CBD reading list
At last count, the fellows produced 79 stories in 23 outlets and four different languages!
Delving into a central topic of this year’s COP—the recognition of Indigenous communities and environmental defenders, and their role in protecting biodiversity—fellow Agnes Oloo highlighted the stark lack of visibility and representation of Kenyan Indigenous communities at COP, while María Celeste Maradiaga reported on increased threats against environmental defenders in Honduras.
Mi primer reporte desde la #COP16 en Cali🇨🇴!!!
Marcio y German, pescadores artesanales de la zona norte, exigen detener la megaindustria pesquera y destacan la importancia de su labor en pro del ecosistema marino en Honduras 🎣🪸
Más aquí 👇🏼 https://t.co/PpVm8fiwO9— maría celeste (@celssstee) October 27, 2024
Everything you need to know about CBD COP16 https://t.co/LXULNQoT32
— Oonib Azam (@OonibAzam_) November 3, 2024
The use of DSI also gathered momentum on the ground in Cali. Brazilian fellows Mayara Subtil and Mariana Grilli delved into the need for fair compensation in genetic resource sharing and called attention to the fact that demarcation Indigenous land and territory is an essential first step for resource sharing. Maria Paula Murcia Huertas, our fellow from Colombia, also examined the risk of biopiracy around DSI.
Fellows also explored barriers faced by countries in need of biodiversity finance. Yiyi Zhang from China examined how incomplete biodiversity data is putting many developing countries at a disadvantage, as they are unable to assess the status of biodiversity in their territories using satellites or related monitoring technologies due to funding and regional conflicts. Maradiaga investigated the potential of biodiversity credits, and the mounting critiques in opposition to this market-based mechanism.
Here are some additional highlights of our fellows’ coverage:
Networking with other climate journalists
In addition to these networking opportunities, Fellows took a fieldtrip to the Alliance of Biodiversity International and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). The project, Future Seeds, is the world’s biggest tropical crop bank and preserves a growing collection of crops, while distributing samples to farmers and researchers worldwide free of charge. Through exploring how to improve crops for higher yields, better nutrition and climate resilience, the project aims to create more sustainable and equitable food systems.
Reflecting on the visit to CIAT, fellow Nadège Christelle Bowa from Cameroon said, “I don't know if such a structure exists in my country. This was an opportunity for me to look for it and present their work to my audience. A subject I would never have thought of before this visit.”
Summarizing the fellowship as a whole, Zhang shared:, “I went into this conference thinking it would be just sitting in meetings all day, but it turned out to be so much more than just putting lines in documents. There was so much going on in and out of the room.”
She was pleased with the opportunity to make connections with people from all kinds of backgrounds and to “learn how different issues, politics, regional conflicts, technological advances, land rights, etc., all relate to biodiversity.”
You can find more biodiversity stories from our CBD COP16 fellows here.
Banner image: Patrick Kahondwa, CBD fellow and a journalist from the DRC, documenting the protests led by Indigenous communities who advocated for less exploitative approaches to nature / Credit: EJN.
