Egypt’s Environment Minister, Yasmine Fouad, will represent the nation at the 16th Conference of Parties to the UN Biodiversity Convention (COP16) in Cali, Colombia. The conference, themed “A Call for Life,” will take place from October 29th to November 1st.
During the conference, Minister Fouad will deliver Egypt’s address on behalf of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. Key goals of COP16 include designating 30% of global land and sea as conservation areas by 2030. COP16 will also feature financial mechanisms to support biodiversity conservation, and improving access to funding for developing countries.
Egypt will emphasize the importance of linking the three Rio Conventions: climate, desertification, and biodiversity. This approach was initiated by President El-Sisi during COP14. Minister Fouad will participate in several ministerial dialogues and side events, focusing on implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, enhancing nature-based solutions, and integrating agricultural food sectors into the framework.
COP16 will also address crucial issues such as reviewing the implementation status of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, developing a monitoring framework, and operationalizing the multilateral mechanism for fair and equitable sharing of benefits from digital sequence information on genetic resources.
